Brookfield Asset Management  is set to acquire a majority stake in wireless broadband provider Imagine Communications, subject to consent from the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.

Communicatons minister Denis Naughten said he welcomed the announcement today by Imagine  of a €120 million investment and 50.1% share acquisition by Brookfield.

The minister added: “This investment was made possible following the release of the valuable 3.6 GHz spectrum in October 2016. A strong, future proofed broadband network delivered under the National Broadband Plan will underpin and support these key investments by telecommunications companies, such as Imagine, in LTE and 5G evolutionary technologies.

"Our shared goal is to connect Ireland to the digital age, and this investment will result in rural and regional Ireland getting access to high speed broadband services in the short term.  It will also provide the backbone for the roll out of 5G in rural Ireland over the next decade.”

Imagine’s LTE network uses wireless technology rather than cable systems and is particularly suited to remote areas. The company has trialled the service with 20,000 customers in rural Ireland and has received expressions of interest from around 100,000 further potential subscribers. 

In Association with

Imagine  did not qualify for the troubled tendering process for the National Broadband Plan, which is set on using fibre to deliver broadband to rural areas.

According to Imagine founder Sean Bolger (pictured at the Imagine launched in 2006): "The evolution to LTE Advanced and 5G and the significant increase in capacity has unlocked the potential of a new 5G Fixed Wireless model as a future proofed alternative ‘last mile’ solution to connect premises to fibre. While 4G has enabled high-speed mobile broadband, the requirement to simultaneously connect thousands of mobile devices significantly reduces the effective coverage and capacity available to individual users, making it unsuitable as an alternative to fixed broadband.

"However, deployed exclusively to provide fixed services (no mobile services), using only intelligent external antennae professionally installed at the customer premises, the capacity of the base station is optimised to provide a secure and dedicated high-speed connection to fibre at the base station to a predefined maximum number of users over a comparatively wide area.

"The challenge facing regional and rural Ireland is not unique and delivering high-speed broadband in less densely populated areas is a global issue. With LTE Advanced already supporting up to 300Mbps services, successful trials of 1GB services and a clear defined industry roadmap to 10Gbps as more 5G spectrum becomes available, fixed wireless is becoming the preferred alternative to previously planned FTTH deployments to deliver future proofed ultrafast broadband services."

Significant Investment

Bolger added: "With the network already live and delivering high speed broadband services to 20k existing customers in rural areas, fully funded we will now commence the full commercial rollout of the network and the availability of next generation high-speed broadband services of 150Mbps to over 300 areas and 1.4 million premises within two years, with further investment in additional sites to meet customer demand.

“This represents a significant commercial investment in essential infrastructure in Ireland to finally deliver the long-awaited benefit of high-speed broadband service, particularly to users and communities in the underserved rural and regional areas. Details of the full commercial rollout and availability of the services will be officially announced in the coming months

“For Imagine it was important to have an investor and partner who understood the significance and scale of the opportunity. As a leading global investor and operator of real assets and with its understanding of essential infrastructure, experience in scaling businesses and global reach, Brookfield is the right partner.”

Canada's Brookfield Asset Management is one of the world’s largest infrastructure funds, with global assets under management of  $285 billion. Its net income for Q1 2018 amounted to $1.85 billion. Its previous investments in Ireland include the wind assets of Bord Gais, purchased in 2014 as a result of its privatisation.