SIRO announces €25m Contract with Huawei for 100% Fibre-Optic Broadband Technology

SIRO has announced that it has signed a contract with Huawei, valued at over €25 million. The contract will see Huawei supply SIRO with end to end network equipment for its phase one deployment to 50 regional towns. The contract was announced at Huawei’s Ultra-Broadband Forum (UBBF) 2017 in Hangzhou today where SIRO CEO, Sean Atkinson is a keynote speaker.

Huawei’s 100% fibre optic technology is a key element in SIRO’s plans to deliver a future-proofed solution to meet Ireland’s broadband needs. SIRO partnered with Huawei on the company’s pilot in Cavan Town in 2015 and the relationship has grown since then. Huawei is now providing active telecoms equipment for SIRO for its first phase build of 500,000 premises. Huawei is also the SIRO build partner in Athlone delivering fibre to over 8,000 homes and businesses.

UBBF is an annual event hosted by The UN Broadband Commission and Huawei. The event sees over 800 operators, industry partners, and agencies come together to share viewpoints on ultra-broadband development. In a keynote address delivered today, Sean Atkinson, SIRO CEO, announced the new partnership and outlined how the Irish example of using the existing ESB networks to roll out fibre connectivity could have applications in other countries.

“This contract is an important milestone in providing best in class, 100% fibre-optic broadband to consumers and businesses in Irish towns. With over 100,000 homes passed and very encouraging early take-up rates, SIRO is meeting the demand of Irish homes and businesses for a new communications network for the 21st century. The Huawei technology is a key component to deliver a service to customers that is quite literally the speed of light.”

Ryan Ding, Executive Director of the Board and President of the Carrier Business Group of Huawei, said: “Huawei is very pleased to be partnering with SIRO to deliver fibre-optic broadband to fifty towns across Ireland. We are working with SIRO to design a network that will meet the requirements of local communities and businesses. As a global ICT business we invested over $11billion into research and development globally last year and this means we are helping SIRO to deliver a world leading fibre broadband solution. Research has shown there is a direct link between improved broadband connectivity and improved economic performance, and we look forward to working with SIRO on what is a nationally significant Broadband rollout.”

Using the existing ESB network, SIRO is delivered through fibre optic cables which run alongside existing electricity connections, all the way to the building. This technology, known as “FTTB”, has no copper connections at any point to slow down the network and delivers 1 Gigabit download and upload speeds.