Magnet Networks aims to double subscriber base to 20,000 by end-2007

Irish broadband and cable TV provider Magnet Networks says it has signed up 10,000 customers in the Republic and plans to double that figure by the end of next year, according to The Sunday Times citing the operator’s communications director Charlie Ardagh. This is the first time the US-backed company has revealed its customer numbers. Less than half of its base is residential. The majority are corporates or small- and medium-sized businesses, Ardagh said. Magnet Networks is owned by Columbia Ventures Corporation, an American private equity group, and has invested EUR40 million in building its network, with another EUR25 million available for spending. The company offers broadband, CATV and fixed line telephone services. It also plans to offer video-on-demand to its television customers and is rolling out fibre-optic networks at a number of housing estates in Dublin and Cork.