eir launches €0.5 billion fixed network investment programme

"Ireland's Fibre Network" available within five years to every town with more than 1,000 premises

11th February 2019: eir has today announced the launch of its fixed network investment programme, which will cost more than half a billion euro over five years and pass an additional 1.4 million premises with an FTTH network capable of speeds up to 10 Gbps. "Ireland's Fibre Network", the next step in the evolution of eir's network and the expansion of the telecoms infrastructure of Ireland, will pass 180 towns and cities, including every town in the country with more than 1,000 premises. The complete list of exchange areas covered is below.

The investment will follow the completion in June this year of eir's FTTH roll-out to 335,000 rural premises, at a cost of €250 million to eir and with no public subsidy. By June this year, eir will have invested more than €600m in fibre broadband, delivering high-speed fibre broadband to more than 80% of the premises in Ireland or 1.9 million homes and businesses across the country. 

This is the next stage in eir's ambitious €1bn investment programme, with a €150 million investment programme in its mobile network already underway, allowing eir to deliver 4G voice and data coverage across more than 99% of Ireland within two years, on the most expansive 4G mobile network in the world. The investment will also see the roll out of 5G services in 2019, delivering the most technologically advanced mobile data services across Ireland's cities. 

CEO of eir, Carolan Lennon said: "I am delighted to announce this substantial investment of more than half a billion euro, which is a key step in the evolution of eir’s network, and indeed of the entire telecoms infrastructure in Ireland. This ambitious project will see 180 towns and cities passed, including every town in the country with more than 1,000 premises. We will deliver not just the fastest and most extensive fibre network in Ireland, but also one of the most extensive in the whole world. We are also investing to improve eir’s customer care by bringing these services back in-house and provided by 750 new eir employees at three new regional hubs in Sligo, Cork and Limerick. Ultimately this investment will mean that eir customers will enjoy the fastest broadband speeds and the best mobile network supported by best in class customer care." 

Carolan also said: "eir is by far the largest investor in telecoms in Ireland and over the past five years we have spent €1.5bn on our network. In June we will complete our €250 million rollout of broadband to 335,000 rural premises. While there is still more to be done to deliver high-speed broadband to everyone in rural Ireland, we are proud that our significant investments in rural Ireland to date has helped bring high-speed broadband to more than 90% of the population according to European Commission data, and Ireland is now in the top 25% of EU countries for rural high-speed broadband coverage. Our €1 billion capital investment programme over the next five years will deliver the very best fixed and mobile experience for all our customers across Ireland."