BT to rev up Three's broadband speeds

29-05-2008

by Billy MacInnes

Three Ireland has awarded BT a contract worth EUR44 million which will see the telecoms firm boost Three's mobile broadband speeds.

Under the contract, BT will build and manage Three's network infrastructure as it prepares for mobile broadband speeds of 14.4Mbps by next year. Essentially, BT will provide Three Ireland with fibre optic capability and the backhaul infrastructure to support 7.2Mbps mobile broadband this year and double that speed by 2009.

The deal follows a contract signed in 2003 for BT to build the 3G access network for Three.

"What we are able to bring to the table is the backhaul infrastructure capability and first class project management skills. We have the size and scale to deliver a project of this magnitude," said Chris Clark, CEO at BT.

Robert Finnegan, managing director at Three, claimed the operator had "made great inroads in the broadband market" and was now "the leading provider in the Irish mobile broadband market with more customers using Three's network than any other". He added the deal with BT would "help us progress even further".

As part of the contract, BT will link by microwave to Three's transmission sites around the country and carry all traffic over its fibre optic network to the mobile operator's Irish data centre.

BT Ireland will also provide full operation and maintenance services, with field engineering staff on call to fix any faults on Three's national infrastructure.

In addition, it will extend the number of Three cell sites in Ireland from 700 to 770 by the end of the year. A spokeswoman for Three told ENN that if it was successful in its bid for the national broadband scheme, it would probably have to add even more cells which could be developed by other providers of cell sites.

Three claims to have over 70,000 Irish mobile broadband subscribers on its network and population coverage of just under 90 percent.