Transforming the internet experience for broadband users

Homeowners and businesses in Carrigaline, Co Cork, are the first to avail of the new Siro broadband service with its speeds of up to 1Gb – up to 40 times that of a standard connection. Siro is the joint venture between ESB and Vodafone which was formed to deploy a fibre-to-the-building broadband network using ESB Networks overhead and underground infrastructure.

"According to ComReg, only 50 per cent of all fixed broadband subscriptions in Ireland are providing speeds of over 30Mbps," says Ciarán Barrett, head of consumer fixed withy Vodafone Ireland.

“The launch of Vodafone LightSpeed Broadband is set to revolutionise the online experience in Carrigaline.

“It offers a 100 per cent fibre-optic internet connection with no copper connection at any point in the network, making it different and better than any other broadband infrastructure in Ireland.

“We are offering customers a range of speeds from 350 Mbps to one gigabit per second depending on their needs.”

Barrett says the new service has the potential to transform the internet experience for users opening up a range of options for both businesses and home consumers. In the first instance, he believes it will lead to greater harmony in the home, a benefit everyone would welcome, particularly with Christmas coming up.

“The average modern household has four to six connected devices including smartphones, tablets, PCs and so on,” he says, “and that number is only going to grow. This creates pain points. People make trade-offs to deal with slow speeds. Typically, when a number of devices are using the connection at the same time, speed slows greatly and the service can become unreliable.

“We hear anecdotally about people managing their online activity based around good and bad times to go on – downloading high definition films overnight, for example, and finding that they connection has failed half way through. This is a recipe for conflict. If someone is trying to work from home or watch a film or do their homework, they shouldn’t have to postpone it because of a poor connection.”

It is the reverse of the one TV problem but with the same effect. Not everyone can do what they want at the same time.

Businesses, too, have been suffering as a result, according to Barrett. “Businesses can be reluctant to allow staff to work from home if they can’t rely on the broadband services.

“In fact, we know of clients who have been using home working for ‘think time’ and then going back into the office if they need to go online.

“With the LightSpeed service the bandwidth is nailed up, there are no contention issues and they can download large files with no buffering. A HD movie can be downloaded in 30 seconds instead of the hours it can take with a standard connection. It puts an end to negotiations on broadband usage.

“There is no more broadband rationing.”

Remote workers will also find the experience transformative, he says.

“They can reach new customers and markets very quickly. It takes the risk and uncertainty out of the connection and facilitates collaboration between colleagues and businesses regardless of where they are located. When you look at the innovation hubs popping up all over the country this will allow individuals to connect up with them and avail of the new opportunities they are creating.

“Individual home based businesses will now have access to the same speeds as much larger businesses who have dedicated infrastructure installed.”

The ability to collaborate, research and avail of the latest cloud-based technologies and services will also facilitate new start-ups. “People have had to come up with workarounds to deal with poor connectivity up until now,” Barrett adds.

“In many cases this actually made the difference between starting up a business and not doing it. High-speed connectivity will allow business communities across Ireland to flourish, offering up new opportunities to sectors such as retail, hospitality and tourism, and for home-grown entrepreneurs the ability to compete more effectively.

“In addition, this level of digital access has the potential to positively impact urban draw and emigration, with speedy access to education and information and the ability to run businesses and study from home now a viable option.”

The greater speed and reliability is facilitated by the nature of the network which uses fibre-optic cables run across the existing ESB network to connect directly into homes and business premises.

“Fibre is far superior to copper,” Barrrett says. “Copper has been used for telecommunications for over a century and there is a limit to what it can offer. For example, service quality diminishes the further you get from the exchange. There are no such issues with fibre which offers light speeds regardless of distance.”

And the limit hasn’t yet been reached, he adds. “Fibre has the potential to go beyond 1Gb. Trials in other countries have shown this and this could be very important for our customers in the future.”

Carrigaline is the first of 51 rural towns which will receive the new service over the next 18 months. Dundalk, Wexford, Sligo, Letterkenny, Tralee and Cavan are next on the list.

“Overall, our target is to reach 500 towns and villages throughout Ireland over the next three years,” Barrett says. “After that we will look at the major cities as part of a third phase, but the burning need for high-speed broadband now is in rural Ireland.”