UK-based Vodafone Group and Irish electricity supplier ESB have signed a joint venture agreement to invest EUR450 million (USD615 million) in the construction of a new fibre-to-the-building (FTTB) broadband network in Ireland. According to Vodafone the new FTTB network will deliver download speeds ranging from 200Mbps to 1Gbps, as Ireland joins the pioneering countries around the world where it comes to utilising its existing electricity infrastructure to deliver fibre directly to the end user’s home or business. Although the plan is to deploy FTTB nationwide, in the initial phase Vodafone says it is targeting some 500,000 homes and businesses in 50 towns and cities across the Republic.
The deal, which will see fibre deployed in a cost-efficient manner on ESB’s existing network, is however subject to European Commission (EC) approval, although the pair are looking to begin rollout within the next few months, with the first customers being connected to a live service in early-2015.