eircom Announces Plans to Extend its Fibre Broadband Footprint to 1.4 million Homes

Nolars

eircom Announces Plans to Extend its Fibre Broadband Footprint to 1.4 million Homes and Businesses
562 Additional Communities to benefit from today’s announcement

70% of Homes and Businesses across Ireland will have access to Broadband Speeds of up to 100Mb by July 2016

eircom today announced an increase to its planned national fibre footprint from 1.2 million homes and businesses to 1.4 million homes and businesses across Ireland. This means that by July 2016, 70% of the country will have access to fibre broadband speeds of up to 100Mbs – a crucial development in making high speed broadband more widely available to many regions across Ireland.

eircom’s fibre rollout programme is currently ahead of schedule and the company is on track to pass 700,000 premises by the end of the year. Today’s announcement means that an additional 562 communities across all 26 counties will be able to avail of eircom’s superfast eFibre service.

This is a major extension of fibre broadband to a large number of provincial towns. A challenge remains to deliver high speed broadband to premises currently outside this planned extended fibre rollout, or those homes and businesses that are too distant from exchanges to be served. eircom welcomes the National Broadband Plan by Government, which intends to address the challenge of delivering high speed broadband service to all remaining premises.

Commenting Herb Hribar, CEO eircom Group said “This is a very positive development and a critical step forward in ensuring as many people as possible across Ireland have access to high speed fibre broadband. No other operator in Ireland is investing as extensively in fibre broadband. Our investment reinforces our commitment to build a network for a nation that connects as many customers as possible to Ireland’s largest telecommunications infrastructure. Our announcement today means that 70% of all homes and businesses in Ireland will have access to fibre broadband speeds of up to 100Mbps by December 2016. Today’s announcement maximises the footprint of fibre broadband that can be currently achieved on a commercial basis in Ireland and we are committed to work with the Government to ensure that the National Broadband Plan provides access to high speed broadband for all.”

Source: http://pressroom.eircom.net/press_releases/article/eircom_announces_plans_to_extend_its_fibre_broadband_footprint_to_1.4_milli/
http://www.siliconrepublic.com/comms/item/34999-eircom-to-expand-fibre-to/


The list
http://pressroom.eircom.net/images/uploads/4453_Eircom%20Map%20Page%20FA4.pdf

sibergoth

Kilmihil still not on the list.

thanks for nothing eircom....

sibergoth

this list for Co. Clare makes absolutely no sense commercially. Tiny little villages of less than 100 people are getting 100Mbps fibre, yet the village of Kilmihil with 650 people gets **** all.

I am getting very sick of this ****... i've battled for years for faster broadband and this is a kick in the nuts now, another two years at least with ****ternet... i don't think i can take it.

i've lived here for 15 years and now I am pretty much forced to move away...

bk

sibergoth wrote: »

this list for Co. Clare makes absolutely no sense commercially. Tiny little villages of less than 100 people are getting 100Mbps fibre, yet the village of Kilmihil with 650 people gets **** all.

I don't know the area, but probably has more to do with which villages already have fibre passing close to them.

I know this doesn't help you, but on the whole it is still very good news.

sibergoth

That's the thing, we do have fibre passing within about 5km from the village... I can't understand the reason for omitting our village. for the sake of a few miles of cable we could be on fibre......

ItHurtsWhenIP

sibergoth wrote: »

That's the thing, we do have fibre passing within about 5km from the village... I can't understand the reason for omitting our village. for the sake of a few miles of cable we could be on fibre......

I feel for you sibergoth, I really do. I suffered for years with one-way satellite and dial-up which was only good enough for the most basic browsing. I couldn't VPN into the company network so couldn't work from home.

We got FWA from Munsterbroadband a few years back and that has been a god send. But the fastest package on offer is 5Mbps/3Mbps (and that's too expensive for me - I'm on 3/1). Which is just about fine for what I need now to work from home.

But with the ever increasing demands of technology that's not going to be enough into the future. In the job, they'll be getting us to switch to soft phones. I've tried it out and I sound like a bloody cylon centurion :rolleyes:, so I'll keep using the mobile for now.

My village (population ~ 300) is on the list. I know there is a big lump of fibre running past the exchange (but not connected to it), so I am hopeful that Eircon will get to it sooner than later. However I live 1.2 miles from the village, so I may not be able to enjoy the fastest speeds, but if it's faster than what I have, I'll take it.

sibergoth

good luck!

I can barely use soft phone, constantly have to repeat myself as i drop out often... then someone asks to share a screen and I have to decline as that would completely kill voice...

*sigh*

I was on ISDN for years, then finally we got ADSL, but it's stuck at 2.55Mbps here due to the local infrastructure...

Stinicker

Excellent, a bigger town next to me is being fed by Fibre next to me and the cable is to go right outside my front door, Engineers have been surveying the area recently and hopefully they will activate my village at the same time as the town over next year.

These rural areas are benefiting from the Fibre passing through them to bigger more populated areas and Eircom might aswell plonk in a Cabinet in these rural places and start winning back custom. Before with ADSL quite alot of rural exchanges were fed by expensive Microwave link which saw Eircom reluctant to spend big bucks to roll out broadband to small population areas, Now the infrastructure will be passing underneath these villages anyway and the cost of the cabinets can't be that high anyway and they might aswell get it rolled out sooner to win back customers.

Cheerful Spring

Most of those Limerick locations are villages. My village is on the list. I can't believe Eircom is doing this?

If they do it in two and half years, well done Eircom!

gazzer

My exchange is on the list. I am very very surprised

sibergoth

I am very very pissed off...

Cheerful Spring

sibergoth wrote: »

good luck!

I can barely use soft phone, constantly have to repeat myself as i drop out often... then someone asks to share a screen and I have to decline as that would completely kill voice...

*sigh*

I was on ISDN for years, then finally we got ADSL, but it's stuck at 2.55Mbps here due to the local infrastructure...

Important@
“Today’s announcement maximises the footprint of fibre broadband that can be currently achieved on a commercial basis in Ireland and we are committed to work with the Government to ensure that the National Broadband Plan provides access to high speed broadband for all.”

The government will likely help out those places not getting Fibre, by 2016. If not after this.

Specifically, the targets of the National Broadband Plan are as follows:

70Mbps – 100Mbps to more than half of population by 2015
At least 40Mbps (faster speeds in some cases) to a further 20pc, possibly up to 35pc, in smaller towns and villages
Minimum of 30Mbps for every remaining home and business, no matter how rural or remote

For me, this news is a sign we are finally getting or act together. For any village in Ireland to get fibre has to be welcomed.

Nolars

My exchange is on the list but i'm about 4 km from the exchange, getting 3 megs. The exchange supply's 3 villages all within 5km of each other. All within the orange circle on the map. Theirs also a primary and secondary school within under 1 km from me so fingers crossed I don't get screwed.

bk

Nolars wrote: »

My exchange is on the list but i'm about 4 km from the exchange, getting 3 megs. The exchange supply's 3 villages all within 5km of each other. All within the orange circle on the map. Theirs also a primary and secondary school within under 1 km from me so fingers crossed I don't get screwed.

Well it is possible that each village will get it's own VDSL cabs, which would mean that your line would run to the cab, rather then to the exchange. Which could mean a shorter line distance.

No guarantee of this, we will just have to wait and see what Eircom will do in rural areas.

It is also possible that they will do the minimum and stick just one VDSL cab near the exchange and not bother with the other villages.

clohamon

Nolars wrote: »

My exchange is on the list but i'm about 4 km from the exchange, getting 3 megs. The exchange supply's 3 villages all within 5km of each other. All within the orange circle on the map. Theirs also a primary and secondary school within under 1 km from me so fingers crossed I don't get screwed.

The department have asked all telcos to notify them of what investments (NGA or basic broadband) they intend to deploy by July 2016 as part of the mapping for the National Broadband Plan.

The mapping document says the following with regard to detail.

3.6 Granularity for NGA
The level of granularity required for existing and planned NGA coverage is to the premises level.

You should therefore be able to enquire whether your particular residence is covered by Eircom’s plan. IrelandOffline asked further specific questions about ensuring the plausibility of these planned investments and the consequences for the telcos themselves and the public in the case of non-delivery. The questions were put directly to the department, repeated openly in a post, and submitted as parliamentary questions by Thomas Pringle TD. No answers were given.

Headshot

look at that they'll do cashel, tipperary town and dundrim. And leaving out Golden. Such ****ers anyway. Its right in between cashel, dundrum and tipp town but they arent doing it

some *****

**** it. it get even worse. New Inn is getting done, a population of tumble weeds. Bloody hell that is bad

watty

It may be that most of the 2016 is politics and won't get done. Or only be exchange upgrades.

sibergoth

I can't wait another 2.5 years for a 'maybe we'll get something better' then... Something has to be done NOW.

this eircom announcement is a joke. the fibre is running by the towns and villages anyway. All they are doing here is making a big deal about wiring up the exchanges that should already have the fibre in them...

the holiday village of Kilkee, Co. Clare is flooded with 20,000 people in the summer, but they aren't allowed decent broadband... !
my village of 650 also not allowed, but a much smaller village that happens to be within reach of a cable IS being upgraded.

that makes no commercial sense, it's only happening because it just so happens to be close enough to an existing fibre run.

oscarBravo

sibergoth wrote: »

I can't wait another 2.5 years for a 'maybe we'll get something better' then... Something has to be done NOW.

Yeah, I remember saying the same thing in 2005.

Nolars

They love updating the map - I seen they finally added that not all homes within the highlighted areas can get efiber

JohnC.

The map doesn't have all the exchanges in the text list on it either, so while my exchange is on the text list, I can't get an approximate timeframe from the map. Or maybe it means 2015+.

hallo dare

lovely to see that once again i won't be getting efibre. careful you dont overwork yourselves eircom by supplying a service

swoofer

is there "normal" eircom BB in Kilmihill yet and what is the likely speed attainable, this is right in the Village centre.

eircom site shows up to 24mb but that may be a bit misleading!!

sibergoth

we've had ADSL in Kilmihil for about 4 years now.

the exchange itself may be capable of 24Mbps, however every subscriber is capped at 2.55Mbps

this is because the backhaul link to Kilrush or wherever it goes to is only 16Mbps. Therefore the entire village has to share that speed
I think actual phone calls will be part of that too...

so - the very best speed attainable on any one connection is artificially capped at 2.55Mbps down and 0.3Mbps up.
doesn't matter how close you are to the exchange in the village, you won't get any faster

which these days is very poor indeed....

sibergoth

(when all the kids are home and on youtube the speed drops dramatically to an unusable waste of time even trying type situation...)

heroics

Anyway just because your in the efibre enabled area does not mean you can get it. I live in the middle of a green area on the map in the largest estate in the village and no one in the estate can get efibre. Alos eircom can give no update as to when we will get it. As always eircom are a complete joke

clohamon

heroics wrote: »

Anyway just because your in the efibre enabled area does not mean you can get it. I live in the middle of a green area on the map in the largest estate in the village and no one in the estate can get efibre. Alos eircom can give no update as to when we will get it. As always eircom are a complete joke

The green areas on the map refer to entire exchange areas and are therefore misleading. The e-fibre program is based on proximity to roadside cabinets which are primarily in cities and large towns. You would need to be within 1000M of a cabinet to get any uplift at all. The locations of the cabinets are viewable here.

heroics

clohamon wrote: »

The green areas on the map refer to entire exchange areas and are therefore misleading. The e-fibre program is based on proximity to roadside cabinets which are primarily in cities and large towns. You would need to be within 1000M of a cabinet to get any uplift at all. The locations of the cabinets are viewable here.

There are 3 fibre enabled cabinets in the village. 2 of them are within a couple of hundred meters of the estate. the estate was only built in the last 6 years. Problem I have is that no one in eircom will give any reason/information as to why we cant get it other than the usual - "your line is not enabled can we interest you in our other broadband bnundles". anyway thats for another thread.

Fogmatic

I haven't got my head round this fibre business yet (maybe because it always seemed so remote); will fibre be available only to village/town people?

If the map's correct, the fibre will pass my doorstep. But it's 6km+ either way to a proposed cabinet, with no villages on the way (just a bunch of us on a landline with theoretical maximum of 16kbps).

swoofer

yes only to highly populated areas, the restriction at the moment is distance to cabinet, 100Ometres is the max but as with everything this may change. the problem with fibre is the expense and what has already been laid. Big exchanges will already have fibre so it is only a case of laying fibre to the roadside cabinet but if in a remote area ie KILMIHILL that exchange will be running on steam power and the likelihood of fibre ever reaching it is at the mercy of eircom ie it will never happen. The more obivious is mobile BB ie 4g.

Fogmatic

Thanks GBCULLEN; I wasn't very hopeful, but just wanted to check, as I don't know much about the subject (e.g. the difference between an exchange and a cabinet).
I'll just have to be content with watching the fibre-laying gang pass our house then (along our property line, if they choose this side of the road!).

4G is a pipe-dream here (3G would be nice). We just about get 2G (and only O2 can manage it).
Fortunately, fixed-wireless broadband became available here a few years ago (I have a 2MB service, which can be upgraded I believe).