Technology

Enet: The last bidder standing in the National Broadband Plan process

Company said last year it would supply 115,000 rural homes with fibre broadband

Enet is Ireland’s largest wholesale-only carrier. Photograph: iStock

Wed Jan 31 2018 - 17:28

A consortium including wholesale broadband supplier Enet is the last bidder left in the Government's National Broadband Plan (NBP) following the withdrawal of Eir.

The consortium, backed by specialist telecoms investor Granahan McCourt Capital, also includes SSE, which is Ireland’s second-largest energy utility, and the John Laing Group, a London-based infrastructure investor and manager.

On Wednesday, it restated its “continued commitment” to the NBP and said it would remain in talks with the Department of Communications.

“We recognise that this procurement is long and complicated but we look forward to our continued engagement with the Department on the remainder of the process,” said Enet chairman David McCourt.

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Enet operates the State’s Metropolitan Area Networks (Mans), a series of telecommunications networks built around 94 towns. This is its core business.

It is Ireland’s largest wholesale-only carrier, selling broadband packages to retail service providers in those towns, and has offices in Limerick and Dublin.

Last summer, the State-backed Irish Infrastructure Fund acquired 78 per cent of Enet, in a deal that valued the company at up to €200 million.

In September 2017, it announced a new €100 million joint venture with SSE to supply 115,000 rural homes with fibre broadband over the next two years.

Nine towns

The nine rural towns earmarked for the service – Ballinasloe, Roscommon Town, Manorhamilton, Bundoran, Ballyshannon, Donegal Town, Ballybofey, Stranorlar and Buncrana – had previously been part of the NBP.

“We truly believe that the NBP can have a lasting effect on Ireland’s future by addressing our broadband issues once and for all, but only if it is done right,” Enet stated at the outset of the process.

Enet’s chief executive Conal Henry has previously criticised his industry’s penchant for hyping up the quality and quantity of its broadband connections.

"I can understand why consumers are utterly frustrated with our industry," he told The Irish Times last year.

“One would have thought that Ireland is floating on a bed of fibre, such is the frequency and verbosity of press releases citing fibre connections.”

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