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Esat to invest in west Cork fibre optics
Friday, February 23 2001
by Mary O'Neill


Esat Business is to invest EUR6.63 million in providing high speed broadband
access to West Cork Technology Park. 



The announcement, made Friday, is part of the government's allocation of EUR2.65
million to broadband funding, under the National Development plan. 

Esat Business' broadband technology is a fibre optic network which carries data
at high speeds using light. As a result, companies will have the ability to carry
several types of information, including telephone calls, e-mail, file transfers,
Web requests and video-conferencing calls, with no need for separate lines. 

The company hopes that the infrastructure will attract more IT companies to the
park. Eircom already has infrastructure in place there, but it does not have
high-capacity resilient fibre.

"The whole idea is to close down on the digital divide that exists in Ireland.
Clonakilty is an attractive part of the country to work and set up business, but
obviously this cannot be done without the proper physical infrastructure in
place," Richard Cooke, CEO Esat Business told ElectricNews.Net.

The West Cork Technology Park is located on a 30-acre site, one mile from
Clonakilty town centre, and 35 minutes from Cork Airport. The park comprises a
range of indigenous and multinational IT related businesses, and receives support
from the IDA and Enterprise Ireland. 

The government has donated approximately 40 percent of the total investment into
the venture. 

"Without the government, we wouldn't be in Clonakilty," Cooke said.

Esat Business is in the process of rolling out broadband wireless local loop
technology. It has formed partnerships with Cisco and Nortel. The company has
already spent almost EUR50 million in providing broadband infrastructure to
hundreds of businesses around the country. Areas serviced by the company include
Cork Airport Business Park and the industrial centre on the Modelfarm Road in
Cork.