Quinn swaps the Stadium of Light for a high-tech challenge

ONE MORE THING:HAVING SEVERED HIS ties with Sunderland football club in February, former Irish striker Niall Quinn is now hoping to score in business through satellite broadband company Q-Sat.

Quinn began his new career last week, having bought out the company’s promoters – John O’Brien and Trevor Burns – for a “sturdy seven-figure sum”.

Q-Sat’s target market is the 200,000 Irish homes, across the 32 counties that do not have access to broadband, and the three million such homes in Britain.

“I’m doing this because I believe in the product,” Quinn said. “The technology now is far better with greater bandwidth available.”

Quinn said Q-Sat has so far netted 5,000 subscribers. “We’re way ahead of target,” he claimed.

He is planning visits to the Scottish parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly to promote the service.

He acknowledged the move represents a “huge risk” for him personally and that there will be “knocks and bumps on the road ahead” but said Q-Sat has some “great options in the UK and further afield”.

Competition in the broadband market is fierce at present, but Quinn is satisfied that there’s “enough for all of us if we all do our job properly”.

Q-Sat has 20 staff directly employed and also uses installers and third-party call centres. Quinn dismissed speculation that financier Dermot Desmond might come on board as an investor.

“I wish. At this moment, I’m driving it myself . . . I’m the sole funder.”

It’s a long way removed from the Stadium of Light, where Quinn enjoyed success both as a player and as chairman.

“It’s a new challenge for me. In many ways, it’s a scarier challenge than Sunderland. I’m not a techie. I’m doing it because I believe we have a great product. I’m very focused on getting this right. It’s my future.”