Mobile users in the southeast of the State will be the first to avail of the next generation of mobile services, with Vodafone set to roll out its 4G network in Kilkenny in the autumn.
The larger cities around Ireland – Dublin, Cork, Waterford and Limerick – will be next on the list for 4G.
The company has also began the process of boosting its 3G coverage around the State, switching UMTS 900 services on in areas where there was previously only 2G voice coverage.
“The first part of our network strategy is to roll out 3G where we have 2G voice,” said chief executive Anne O’Leary.
“We need to make sure every one of our customers can at least upload, use social media, use email and connect.”
Three sites in Donegal were switched on by Vodafone yesterday, and later this month, sites in Waterford and the southeast of the country will be switched over.
“Most of the handsets out there are 3G,” said Ms O’Leary.
“We’ve seen a huge move towards smartphones both in prepay and postpay in consumer and business.”
The Communications Regulator cleared the way for next generation services in November last year, after it announced the results of a multiband auction for the 800MHz, 900MHz and 1800MHz spectrum.
The multimillion euro investment by Vodafone and the other Irish networks marked the end of a four-year process to allocate the spectrum. The networks have committed to rolling out 4G services this year, but the availability of compatible handsets is believed to be a factor in restricting the introduction of the next generation of mobile services.
That situation is expected to change throughout 2013 as more 4G handsets become available to Irish mobile users.
The company has also opened a new Enterprise Customer Solutions unit, the result of a €25 million investment over the past two years in Vodafone’s fixed telephony business. The new unit will be responsible for designing, delivering and supporting complex integrated telecommunications solutions for business customers. Among the services handled by the unit will be cloud and IP PBX telephone systems, managed WAN and security solutions.
Vodafone Ireland’s head of Enterprise Customer Solutions Steve MacNicholas predicted 30 per cent growth in the division in the current financial year.
