SIRO, the open-access broadband provider, has announced its withdrawal from the National Broadband Plan tender process.

Together with its shareholders ESB and Vodafone, the company shares the Government’s ambition to reverse the digital divide by increasing the penetration of high-speed gigabit broadband to over half a million homes and business across Ireland.

Following a comprehensive review, SIRO said it cannot develop a competitive business case to justify continued participation in the National Broadband Plan bid process and therefore has decided to withdraw.

Original plan

SIRO’s original plan to build a 1GB broadband network in 50 regional Irish towns is unaffected by this decision and the company remains committed to regional Ireland.

SIRO has invested over €100m in the last two years in building a Fibre-to-the-Building (FTTB) service and is on track to pass 100,000 homes and businesses by the end of September.

Commenting on the announcement, Sean Atkinson, SIRO CEO, said: “Our decision to withdraw from the National Broadband Plan tender has not been taken lightly.

“We will continue with our original plans focusing on transforming Ireland’s regional towns, putting them on a par for high-speed connectivity with places like Tokyo and Hong Kong.

“SIRO’s gigabit towns will attract investment and job-creation, support SMEs and allow access to new services in education, healthcare and entertainment.”

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