Eircom unveils plans for Europe?s fastest broadband in Tullamore

 Eircom has unveiled ambitious plans for extending its new fibre-optic cable broadband service to Tullamore as part of a new system which they say will provide state of the art internet services for all nine ?Gateway Towns? designated by the Government for accelerated development.

Athlone, Tullamore and Mullingar have been included as part of Eircom?s plans to provide 50 - 55% of the Irish population with broadband which they say will be as fast - if not faster - than anywhere else in Europe.

As part of a 41-page submission to the Government, the company emphasised that it can provide half the population with internet speeds of up to 25 mps (megabits per second) within seven years should their plans be approved.

The service, they say, would be greatly improved by providing fibre-optic cable to most homes in all nine Gateway Towns, thereby proving extremely beneficial for the business sector.

It is believed that Eircom Executive Chairman Pierre Danon, has already committed the company to a €1bn investment in its network. Making fibre available to 35% of the population would cost an extra €350m.