Press Release: Glenveagh Properties to pre-install fibre optic broadband in new homes as standard

Move recognises growing importance of broadband availability for new home owners

61% of first time buyers rate overall broadband speed as 'most important technology' in their new homes

Leading Irish homebuilder, Glenveagh Properties, is to begin installing fibre optic broadband as standard in new homes during construction. The company has partnered with wholesale broadband provider SIRO which will ensure that new home owners have broadband from day one - avoiding the lengthy delays of up to 2 months which typically face new home owners trying to access broadband services.

The company will begin installing broadband infrastructure on greenfield sites from the start of April. Glenveagh is the first builder in Ireland to treat broadband as a standard utility service like electricity and water and there are no additional charges for homeowners for the installation.

A recent survey of first time buyers undertaken by Glenveagh found that 61% of respondents identified overall broadband speed as 'the most important technology' to them while broadband dependent devices ranked highly for new home buyers with 82% of respondents wanting to have Smart TV, 41% wanting smart thermostats and over 30% wanting smart devices such as virtual assistants, smart doorbells with cameras and smart lighting.

SIRO offers 100% fibre-optic cable broadband which is faster and more reliable than traditional copper wire ADSL broadband. The SIRO infrastructure allows for broadband connection speeds from 1 Gigabit per second (Gbps), with the capacity to support up to a massive 10 Gbps and beyond. SIRO builds its fibre-optic network on the existing ESB network, granting widespread access across the country, allowing Glenveagh to offer this essential utility in new homes in new and established communities nationwide.

Roger Brown, Services Director with Glenveagh Properties, said: 'Broadband is now as much of a key utility for homebuyers as electricity or water and it is a key enabler for working from home so we believe its past time that we treat it as a utility the same as we treat electricity, gas and water.'

Ronan Whelan, Chief Commercial Officier, SIRO said: 'High quality and reliable fibre broadband is an essential part of how we now live and work. Covid-19 has further underlined its importance.

At SIRO, we are committed to bringing fibre broadband to communities across Ireland. Fully connected homes are central to connected communities and should be the standard for all new homes.

Partnering with Glenveagh to ensure that new homeowners get seamless access to reliable and high quality broadband from the moment they step inside their new home furthers this ambition.'

For more information about Glenveagh Properties, please visit www.glenveagh.ie or follow on social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

ENDS

Notes to editor:

The research and its findings were conducted and produced with The Journal Media and 498 respondents were surveyed nationally.

About Glenveagh: At Glenveagh our vision is that everyone should have access to high-quality homes in flourishing communities across Ireland. To achieve this vision, we innovate how we plan, design & build high-quality homes for where our customers want to be and for how they want to live. We take pride in the enduring quality of everything we build, and we design and craft each detail to make life easier and more enjoyable. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to live in beautiful homes that simply make life better. We are opening access to high-quality new homes at scale for first-time buyers, and for people looking for homes that meet their changing needs.

We are a national developer and builder that embraces the new. New partnerships, new technologies, new standards, and new approaches. Our new ways of working built on deep expertise and proven experience ensure that we deliver beautiful modern homes that enhance the lives of our customers, the communities where they live, and the environment that surrounds them. At Glenveagh we bring new ideas home. We are home of the new.

About SIRO: SIRO is a joint venture company between the ESB and Vodafone. We are building a 100% fibre optic broadband network using the ESB's infrastructure.  SIRO's key differentiator is that it is a custom-built 100% fibre-optic network delivering speeds of 1 Gigabit per second, with no copper connection at any point in the network, making it faster and more reliable than any other traditional broadband infrastructure in Ireland.

Issued on behalf of Glenveagh Properties plc by Gordon MM. For more information, please contact:

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