Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Mary Mitchell O’Connor TD (@mitchelloconnor) officially opened SIRO’s new offices in Carrickmines, Co. Dublin today and welcomed the creation of 60 new jobs by the company over the past 12 months. SIRO (@SIROIreland) will now employ 120 people as it ramps up the construction of Ireland’s first 100% fibre-optic broadband network to 500,000 premises in 50 towns nationwide. The company also announced that it will invest €150 million in its network rollout in 2017, which will support 400 subcontractors working on the project around Ireland.

With over 40,000 premises passed to date in 17 regional towns, SIRO is Ireland’s largest Fibre-to-the-Building (FTTB) operator. FTTB is the gold standard for broadband connectivity internationally and SIRO will pass 55,000 premises by the end of the year. The wholesale broadband operator’s rollout will expand to over 30 towns during the course of 2017, as demand for services powered by SIRO grows.

Commenting at the office opening, Minister Mitchell O’Connor said: “Broadband connectivity is of vital importance to the Irish economy in terms of job creation and enabling Irish companies to compete online. I have seen the potential of the Gigabit society already when I opened the Ludgate Hub in Skibbereen, which is powered by SIRO, this summer. It is an exemplar project which is already sowing the seeds for a vibrant digital economy in West Cork and transforming the broadband experience in the town. I am aware that other towns are hoping to replicate its success as part of SIRO’s rollout, which is a real boost for regional Ireland.”

Sean Atkinson, SIRO CEO, added: “We are delighted to move into our new home after doubling our headcount to 120 and outgrowing our old premises. It is our ambition to become Ireland’s new national telecoms infrastructure and I am excited by the calibre and enthusiasm of colleagues who have joined us to help build our unique 100% optical Fibre-to-the-Building network – the only solution capable of future-proofing Ireland’s broadband needs now and for the decades ahead.”

SIRO has formed partnerships with BT, Carnsore Broadband, Digiweb, Vodafone and WestNet with more retailers expected to come on board in 2017 as the company drives competition in the wholesale broadband market. The network interconnect agreement between SIRO and BT is of particular importance as it lays the foundation for SIRO to enable multiple retail partners, such as rural fixed and wireless broadband providers, to access its 100% fibre-optic broadband network.

Using the existing ESB network, SIRO is delivered by fibre optic cables all the way to the building. This technology, known as Fibre-to-the-Building (FTTB), has no copper connections at any point to slow down the network and delivers 1 Gigabit download and upload speeds.