Broadband is considered the number one infrastructure priority for enterprise growth and job creation. According to Forfás, Ireland's policy advisory board for enterprise and science: “The widespread availability of advanced broadband infrastructure and services is essential to realising future growth potential in existing and emerging sectors. It will also play a key role in supporting the growth of small business and supporting regional development.”
Eircom’s recent investment and roll out of greatly improved fixed line broadband in Mayo is a very welcome development for homes and businesses, according to the chamber of commerce in Castlebar.
Eircom provided a detailed brief on its new eFibre investment to members of Castlebar Chamber and Mayo Enterprise and Innovation Advocacy Group last Monday.
The presentation and discussions covered the availability of vastly improved broadband speeds to many homes and businesses. It also covered what the newly expanded broadband means for the competitiveness of local businesses and our attractiveness for new business start ups.
Speaking at the meeting with Castlebar Chamber, Paul Bradley, director of corporate affairs, eircom said: “With Chambers Ireland we have a unique opportunity to reach out nationally to highlight the benefits of high speed broadband. We know that super fast broadband is a must for SMEs and we are genuinely committed to offering our business customers in Castlebar fast, reliable, and competitively priced products. Our eFibre products provide speeds of up to 70mb per second, and on average, customers using our network will see a six to 10 time improvement in their current broadband download speeds, transforming their online experience. eFibre is definitely a game changer and our eFibre products offer significant value – starting at €24.79 for businesses.”
eFibre is already available to more than 4,300 homes and businesses in Castlebar, 4,400 premises in Ballina, and 2,200 homes and businesses in Westport.
By the end of this year, eircom aims to reach more than 600,000 homes and businesses, bringing more than 10,000 additional premises online each week. The company is adding more than 15km of fibre every working day to the network. When completed in early 2015, the network will reach 1.2 million homes and businesses across Ireland, representing 60 per cent of all homes and businesses in the country. Eircom also aims to increase the speeds on offer up to 100mb per second within the next year as the technology evolves.
Wilson Bird, vice president of the Castlebar Chamber, said: “The scale of this rollout is very impressive. Fibre broadband will be a vital improvement to businesses across the county allowing them to enhance their productivity and access new technology.”
Tom Canavan of Mayo Enterprise and Innovation Advocacy Group added: “Fixed line fibre broadband is a vital piece of infrastructure for Castlebar and Co Mayo. In recent times, we have been losing business competitiveness and new business opportunities because our broadband services were not adequate or not as good as other parts of the country. We have been unable to attract new businesses due to this infrastructure deficiency and some of our existing businesses, especially in the media and software sectors, have lost competitiveness. We welcome eircom’s new eFibre rollout as a very significant investment by them and a very significant improvement for the Mayo area, and we also recognise their new investment commitments with new eFibre products. We will need much more continuing investment in the communications infrastructure in the years ahead as the technology continues to change. Diversification within the market to ensure continuity of supply against supply failure is vital.”
For further information on eircom’s eFibre products and services, business customers should log on to www.eircom.ie/business/efibre or call 1800 303 499.
