‘You can’t take connections for granted – we have to remove barriers to the digital society’

It’s not often that an industry leader quotes Vladimir Ilyich Lenin to make a point.

“Lenin said there are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen. That’s what we saw last year,” says John Keaney, chief executive of Siro and chairman of Telecommunications Industry Ireland (TII), the Ibec representative body for the electronic communications industry in Ireland.

“Last year, Covid changed the landscape in regard to the understanding of the criticality of telecommunications as an enabler of how we live, remote working, and changes in how business operates,” he says.

“Our member companies are involved in broadband, broadcasting, cable, data centres, fixed, mobile, satellite and wireless internet and include equipment manufacturers and network providers as well.”

Siro is the Vodafone ESB joint venture formed over six years ago to bring broadband service to regional towns around the country using the existing electricity infrastructure.

“Our network now passes more than 400,000 homes in 65 locations around Ireland, and we are providing services to 94,000 residential and business customers,” says Keaney.

The nature of the telecommunications landscape has changed in recent years as a result of the fibre to the home (FTTH) technology being deployed by Siro and others, he points out.

“eir and NBI are also doing that. It’s expensive to roll out but it offers speeds of up to 1Gb both up and down. It’s also future-proofed. Once the hard work of building the network is done and you’ve created the rivers of light it’s a matter of upgrading the electronics at each end as time goes on.”

I break it into three chunks – investment in networks, connecting people to networks, and security

And investment carries on apace.

“In the last four years alone, the industry has invested €3 billion in upgrading infrastructure. If the pandemic had hit 10 years ago and the government had said stay at home, I shudder to think what would have happened. Even five years ago it would have been very difficult. That investment has allowed Ireland to work remotely for the past 15 months. The quality of the networks has stood us in good stead.”

Greater understanding

But action is needed if Ireland’s telecommunications capability is to keep pace with international competitors.

“I break it into three chunks – investment in networks, connecting people to networks, and security,” says Keaney.

“There needs to be greater understanding across Government of the true value that telecommunications networks bring,” he continues. “We’re not saying we should build recklessly, but we can improve the regulatory environment to ensure it is fair to all.”

The digital divide also requires Government attention.

The last thing the HSE needed was a cybersecurity crisis

“We need to ensure that all parts of the community are capable of using digital technology. That means providing training provision and so on. In business, a lot of SMEs are still dependent on copper connections or other older platforms.

“There is talk about the EU Recovery Fund and e-commerce for SMEs, but they won’t be able to participate if they can’t connect to high-speed networks. The Government has to take a proactive position in relation to this. You can't take connections for granted and we have to remove barriers to the digital society.”

Security has probably never been more topical.

“The last thing the HSE needed was a cybersecurity crisis. But on a broader point, 30 per cent of EU data is held in Ireland and the Government needs to play a leading role in strengthening our cyber defences. It shouldn’t do this on its own of course, and there is a role for industry and the academic sector there as well.

“This is an area that’s going to get bigger and bigger and bigger. If we are not on the front foot and just waiting for things to happen and reacting to them, our reputation as a country will be damaged. Is that 30 per cent of EU data going to stay here if that is the case?”

Looking ahead, he says there is a need to keep investing in the telecommunications network and continue to anticipate changing needs.

“We will either step up or get left behind by competitor countries,” Keaney contends.

“The Covid pandemic has accelerated the journey and batted us forward five years. When we launched Siro, people asked us what it would be used it for. We thought entertainment would lead the way in driving demand for higher bandwidth but Covid has turned everything on its head.

“We have to ask what the hybrid working models of the future will look like. No one is saying the direction of travel is not forward. We are never going back. But the networks have to be there for that to happen. We need to continue to invest in our networks and our people and make the benefits of the digital society available to all.”