Ireland’s Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) has published its quarterly key data report for the three months ending 30 June 2023, revealing an almost 34% year-on-year increase in the number of full fibre fixed broadband connections in the country.
According to the regulator’s data, fixed broadband subscriptions based on fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) technology increased by 33.7% y-o-y to reach 576,856 at the end of June 2023, with such accesses representing 35.6% of the country total, up from 27.0% at mid-2022. Total fixed broadband subscriptions across the Republic increased by 1.7%, meanwhile, to 1.622 million. Further, ComReg noted that in line with the increased uptake for fibre-based services, it recorded an increase in the proportion of fixed broadband subscriptions signed up to a tariff offering downlink speeds of more than 1Gbps. As per the regulator’s data, 9.5% of the country’s fixed broadband subscriptions were on a gigabit-speed plan as of 30 June 2023, up from 7.7% a year earlier.
Turning to the mobile sector, ComReg reported that subscriptions (excluding mobile broadband only and M2M subscriptions) increased to 5.660 million at mid-2023, from 5.474 million twelve months earlier. Of note, 5G subscriptions are beginning to gain some traction, increasing by almost 80% y-o-y to stand at 1.288 million as of end-June 2023.