‘High-speed fibre makes the rejuvenation of rural towns and villages tangible’

Eavann Murphy, Eir Wholesale

Fibre optic broadband will dramatically improve on the connectivity provided by copper

Fibre optic broadband will dramatically improve on the connectivity provided by copper

Eavann Murphy of Eir

Fibre optic broadband will dramatically improve on the connectivity provided by copper

April 01 2021 02:30 AM

To fully unlock Ireland’s potential for job creation, exports and investments we must transition from copper to fibre. Traditional copper networks have reached the ceiling of broadband speed.

In Ireland, a large portion of our network’s current technology is transmitted over copper cables, which has a physical cap on the maximum download speeds of up to 100Mbps and much lower upload speeds.

But a recent survey by Eurofound revealed that in Ireland, approximately 40pc of all employees were working from home at the height of the crisis, the fourth highest figure in the EU.

High-speed broadband is now absolutely essential to support new ways of working, living and staying connected with our loved ones.

The copper network that served us so well will, in the next five to seven years, be replaced with modern, reliable, future-proofed and scalable high-capacity networks largely based on Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) technologies.

Open Eir embarked on a network modernisation programme some years ago, transforming our network through a multi-annual investment programme. This enabled the roll out of open eir’s rural fibre network to 340,000 homes and businesses, completing that programme in 2019.

We have since commenced the second phase of this commercial investment focused on urban locations. Today we have passed 749,000 premises on our way to a target of 1.8 million. Once completed, our fibre network will cover 84pc of the premises in Ireland and 90pc of that network will be served by FTTP.

This investment is imperative to ensure Ireland remains competitive on the international stage.

The speed and success of this transition will depend on a number of factors such as government policy and regulatory support to enable the promotion of fibre ahead of copper, allowing customers to move to that new FTTP network when available, and ultimately leading to a withdrawal of copper services from the market.

The Covid-19 pandemic has shone a spotlight on Ireland’s rural-urban digital divide, highlighting the digital inequalities between the two.

In line with the government’s Rural Development Policy 2021-2025 published this week, the switch-off of copper and the implementation of high-speed fibre broadband, makes the potential for the rejuvenation of Ireland’s rural town and villages tangible, as more people make the decision to return home or move out of cities in search of a greater quality of life.

The influx of people will in turn result in the support of regional economies, while greater numbers of children in the region will support local schools, sport clubs and culture.

Once the National Broadband Plan rolls out through the remainder of the country on eir’s poles and ducts, Ireland could have a near ubiquitous fibre broadband network making it one of the most connected countries in the world for fixed broadband, one that enables rural living a possibility for many once again.

The Irish landscape for fibre deployment will change dramatically over the next five years.

We believe that the migration to fibre should initially be customer-led.

In order to ensure that retailers and consumers can make informed decisions over time, a three-stage transition from copper to fibre services is required: Stage 1, customer-led migration, where fibre is available that should be the preferred product offered over copper. Stage 2, incentivising exchange area-led migration as localities become fibre dominant. Stage 3, will see the completion of the transition and copper switch-off.

To complement this, a structured programme providing information to home and business owners on the availability of FTTP and the network changes in the area will be required. This will facilitate the migration to better modern networks and allow the switch-off and ultimate removal of copper lines.

Through both commercial and State investment the availability of FTTP for every home and business in Ireland will soon become a reality.

The speed at which Ireland can push to become a leader in Europe is reliant on a supportive regulatory regime to develop a framework that incentivises a timely and orderly migration from the legacy copper-based services to modern FTTP services. open eir has recently published a white paper that considers these aspects including access, committed voluntary wholesale prices, migration and copper switch-off.

Collaboration is required to achieve the next stage of Ireland’s digital transformation.

Working with the Regulator and our customers, open eir will agree a multi-stakeholder approach as we understand that the consequences of the modernisation of Ireland’s broadband services through the switch-off of copper are far reaching and the benefits are many – enabling people to live and work wherever they wish in the country, supporting a thriving rural Ireland and ensuring Ireland’s competitiveness on the global stage far into the future.

Eavann Murphy is managing director of Open Eir Wholesale