Its €200 million network upgrade continues, but its broadband infrastructure is now 100% fibre
Virgin Media Ireland is launching 2Gbps fibre broadband in towns including Tralee, Killarney and Letterkenny, and continuing fibre network upgrades in areas such as Dublin, Cork and Louth.
The operator says the announcement marks a milestone in its three-year transition to a full fibre network: at the end of 2021, it pledged to invest €200 million to upgrade its broadband infrastructure that reached more than 1 million homes, to full fibre. It had offered 1Gbps across its entire footprint since 2020.
Signing up Siro
Last August, Virgin Media signed a deal with wholesale, fibre-only broadband provider Siro, to reach a further 450,000 premises across Ireland. Siro is a joint venture between Vodafone and Ireland’s electricity utility, ESB. It is rolling out its network across 154 Irish towns and cities and aims to pass 770,000 premises by 2026.
Tony Hanway, CEO of Virgin Media (pictured), said: “Today’s announcement marks a step-change for our business as we will now offer superfast and reliable fibre broadband services in new regions across Ireland, resulting in greater consumer choice and increased competition.”
Shifting expectations
Recent research carried out by Amárach*, on behalf of Virgin Media, showed that in this post-Covid world, a consumer’s broadband connection has never been more important, with over a third of consumers relying on it for home working as well as entertainment and streaming.
The research also found that 53% have consumed more streaming content over the last two years compared to before the pandemic and 47% of respondents stated that a reliable broadband connection is the most important factor regarding their home broadband and 31% chose high-speed as the most important attribute.