Eir To Link 100,000 Rural Users To 1Gb Network

/ 3rd March 2016 /

Telecoms provider Eir is to expand its apprentice training programme to cater for its continued investment in fibre broadband networks throughout the country, with this year’s recruitment programme offering 50 places to candidates with a Leaving Cert qualification.

Eir expects to extend high-speed broadband to 100,000 more rural homes and businesses in the next year, and will require more skilled workers to implement its plans and maintain the new network.

Online applications to the apprenticeship programme are open from today, successful applicants will start work next July, and will receive training for two years. Orla Coughlan of Eir said that the fresh recruitment, the second in two years, “is a further signal of our sustained commitment to investing in our future, ensuring our people can deliver the high speed broadband and highest level of service to our customers”.

“The apprentice roles provide a really exciting opportunity to work in a dynamic fast paced environment on a critical infrastructure programme. The jobs will be bases across Ireland and we have been very clear to date on our determination to support rural employment by hiring people from their local communities.”

Broadband Plans

Separately, the company announced further details of its broadband infrastructure plans for the next year. Eir now plans to offer 100,000 homes and businesses access to a network with speeds of up to 1,000Mb per second, or one gigabit per second, which it says will be the fastest speed available from any provider.

Eir will provide high speed broadband to a further 300,000 users, to reach a total of 1.9 million premises by the end of 2020. About 1.4 million users already get high speed broadband in Ireland and the company remains on target to reach 1.7 million premises by this time next year.

Carolan Lennon of Open Eir said: “Last June, we committed to extending the reach of our commercial rollout as far as possible. Our announcement today is testament to our ongoing support of the economic recovery and rejuvenation of rural Ireland using best in class technology.”