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The company’s 5G rollout has rapidly accelerated this year and now includes Croke Park, one of Europe’s largest stadiums
Today, Eir has announced that its 5G coverage now extends to 53% of Ireland’s population, having been deployed in 204 towns and cities across the country.
Eir launched 5G a little over a year ago and since then has been rapidly expanding the availability of the new technology throughout the country. In September, the company announced that its 5G availability had increased more than three-fold since its launch, with more sites being added weekly. Now, three months later, the company has reached the milestone of covering over half the Irish population, the first Irish operator to do so.
Key sites continue to be added to the company’s coverage map, most recently Croke Park, the third largest stadium in Europe and home of the Irish national rugby union team. The 5G deployment in the stadium will give fans speeds up to ten-times faster than 4G, as well as opening up the possibility of deploying new services in the stadium, such as augmented reality.
"Eir is delighted to be the first operator to surpass 53% of the population of the country with 5G and to be the first to bring 5G to life in Croke Park," the company’s chief executive Carolan Lennon said. “When fans return, they’ll be able to enjoy speeds up to 10 times faster than 4G and a reliable connection, bringing with it the ability to share the excitement of the big game instantly with friends and family at home. 5G technology will bring the action on the pitch closer to fans, whether in the stadium or at home, allowing eir sport much more flexibility for broadcast capability from pitch side.”
Eir already covers 99% of the Irish population with 4G as of a few months ago, having seen a particular push to ensure that their network could support all of the population throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
“Throughout the Covid-19 emergency, Eir has prioritised mobile capacity upgrades and coverage enhancements to facilitate remote working and connectivity for our customers on our 4G and 5G networks,” said Lennon back in September.
Eir’s rapid 5G rollout should be commended, but it should also be remembered that there is still a long way to go.
Is Ireland rolling out 5G quickly enough? Find out what the expert’s think at the upcoming Connected Ireland
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