SHANNON BROADBAND – CONNECTING THE REGION
As the first public sector regional telecoms company to be set up in Ireland, Shannon Broadband Ltd. is a unique company. It is a partnership in which Shannon Development, Limerick City & County, Clare, North Tipperary & Offaly County Councils throughout the region work to the common goal of “bringing the new world of ‘always on’ telecoms connectivity” to all parts of the region, commencing with the installation of the Limerick Metropolitan Area Network.
The Shannon Region covers an area of some 10,000 square kilometres spanning counties Clare, Limerick, North Tipperary, South Offaly and North Kerry, which collectively have a population of over 407,000 people. Currently this region, like others in Ireland, is seriously disadvantaged in terms of broadband communications infrastructure and services.
Shannon Broadband Ltd. has been set up in response to this – to tackle the ‘connectivity’ issue, and to ensure that current and future enterprises have broadband access at competitive prices.
In the early part of 2001, Shannon Development completed a detailed review of the telecommunications infrastructure in the Shannon Region with a particular focus on the availability of broadband connectivity. As a result of this review, significant supply side deficits were identified. Subsequently, Shannon Development developed a strategy and action plan to address these deficits
Important Milestones
2008: Phase 2 MANs are made commercially available through Magnum Opus, the interim Management Services Entity (MSE) 2.
2007: Shannon Broadband constructs Phase 2 MANs which includes the towns of Nenagh, Roscrea, Templemore, Birr, Banagher, Newcastlewest, Abbeyfeale and Kilrush, with a total length of 52km.
2006: European Commission, under state aid rules, authorise the next phase of the Government’s €200 million Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs) Programme. The Programme will bring high speed, fibre optic, telecommunications networks to a further 90 towns in Ireland next year.
2005: Government appointed Management Services Entity, e|net takes full operational control of Limerick Man (65Km - including Northern extension and ESB resilience) from Shannon Broadband Ltd. The network passes all the major industrial, Government and education facilities of Limerick City.
2004: Shannon Broadband Ltd completes Limerick MAN phase 1 consisting of a 49Km long, 48-pair, fibre optic broadband cable around Limerick City
2003: Shannon Broadband Launch
2002: Cross-organisational teams formed by Shannon Development, Limerick City and County Councils