Skibbereen Becomes SIRO’s Latest Gigabit Town

After delivering 1 Gigabit connectivity to the Ludgate Hub in July, SIRO has announced that it has fully completed its rollout in Skibbereen, linking the town to its 100% Fibre-to-the-Building (FTTB) broadband network.

SIRO is also powering National Digital Week, which is currently taking place in Skibbereen, with the 1,600 entrepreneurs, digital marketers and technology enthusiasts in attendance able to experience Gigabit connectivity. The event has been organised by the Ludgate Hub, which is on course to create 500 jobs over the next five years. The Ludgate Hub has also been listed as a finalist in the European Broadband Awards, where the European Commission acknowledges outstanding broadband internet projects from all over Europe.

Commenting about the announcement, Sean Atkinson, CEO of SIRO, said: “Fast and reliable broadband is transforming the modern economy and can play a significant role in revitalising communities by opening up new markets for local businesses, allowing residents to remotely work from home and take advantage of all the digital services available in education, healthcare and entertainment.”

“The SIRO rollout will have as big an impact on Skibbereen as rural electrification did, changing how people live and work forever. The SIRO enabled Ludgate Hub is already proving to be a tremendous success and it is set to be the cornerstone of an entrepreneurial ecosystem in West Cork. As our 100% fibre optic broadband network, powered entirely by light, is different and better than any other technology, we have future-proofed Skibbereen’s broadband needs for decades ahead.”

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 has no copper connections at any point to slow down the network and delivers 1 Gigabit download and upload speeds.

The first phase of the fibre roll out is currently ongoing with SIRO on schedule to connect over 500,000 homes and businesses across 50 regional towns by 2018. SIRO is building in 17 towns across the country – Dundalk, Cavan, Carrigaline, Sligo, Letterkenny, Tralee, Wexford, Drogheda, Westport, Portlaoise, Castlebar, Mullingar, Newbridge, Ennis, Ratheniska, Carlow and Skibbereen.