Smart Telecom is to create 60 new jobs in Dublin to help it grow its business and residential telecoms service in the Republic.

The company, which employs 270 staff, said yesterday it was setting up a new call centre in Baggot Street to handle the growing number of telephone enquiries from its customers.

Smart Telecom recently raised €15 million funding when it listed on the Alternative Investment Market in London to help it grow its business more rapidly.

The company supplies a range of telephone and internet services to home and business subscribers in the Republic. It said yesterday that it aims to have 70,000 customers signed up to its services by the end of the year.

Mr Óisín Fanning, chief executive of Smart Telecom, said the company had to increase staff numbers to meet exceptional demand for its services.

"They will work to help us achieve our target of signing up 70,000 customers by the end of this year," said Mr Fanning. "We are very much on track to achieve this target and, in fact, we hope to surpass it."

Smart Telecom, which also has offices in Citywest Business Park and Carrigtwohill in Cork, is using its recent funding round to "unbundle" Eircom's local loop and enable it to supply its own broadband services.

It is also building out high speed business telecoms networks throughout the Republic to target the corporate sector and small and medium companies.