who is openeir?

open eir is a trading name of the company EIR. open eir is responsible for the deployment of fibre optics throughout much of ireland in order to provide quality internet that meets the needs of the 21st century. The company shares infrastructure with internet operators such as Vodafone, Sky to provide service.

What is happening?

Recent months have seen increased announcements such as reaching 900,000 households. 

Unfortunately this is only a mirage. Openeir is using a loophole in the Irish Communications Regulations, which does not clearly define where the operator's responsibility ends and the end-user's responsibility for the physical infrastructure begins.  That is why they are "deploying" fibre in the street trunking in the manholes.  But from there to the homes, there is no ducting and therefore no option to offer service. but count it as deployed and available. What I define as a false deployment of fibre optics.

This benefits OPENEIR in the following way:

- It makes other companies such as SIRO not show interest in deploying service since "theoretically" there is already fibre deployed.

-It ensures a dominant position in many areas of Ireland for openeir.

-Allows them to advertise that they have achieved more coverage than they have in reality.

-Save costs on rollouts and avoid doing the most expensive areas.

This would negatively affect hundreds of users by leaving them in a grey zone:

-Where when you go to the eir or vodafone website, it tells you that you have fibre coverage, but when you place an order and the technician comes, it tells you that it is not possible to install the service. 

-It leaves hundreds of users in a grey area where OPENEIR claims to have service but the reality is that it does not, and other private companies or NBI show no interest in deploying service because based on the information from openeir there is service.

Why does this happen?

Many of the communications ducts made by openeir in the 50s-90s, the cables were buried using cement, without any ducting, which at the time would have allowed cost savings. 

The problem arises when you want to replace a copper cable with a fibre optic cable. The only option is to have a trench dug in the pavement and a civil work done to install the ducting that they did not do originally, which involves permits and a lot of money.

Openeir has therefore preferred to make "false fibre optic deployments" by installing the cables only up to the point where civil works are not necessary.

Will they solve it? Will they let the user solve it?

Openeir confirm that they do not intend to roll out real fibre in all these areas until the latter end of the IFN programme rollout in 2026.  But that they do count them as deployed areas as there is fibre, but in a manhole that can be 5, 10 or 20 metres from the house.

On the other hand, they are not allowing the end user to pay for the civil works necessary to carry out the 5, 10 or 20 metres of ducting to the closer manhole in the road.

This followed by the sale of 49% of openeir's fibre optics to the INFRAVIA investment fund would not help.

What do we ask of them?

COMREG must and has a duty to stop this malpractice.

OPENEIR must and has a duty to provide a solution to customers and stop deploying fake fibre. ONLY indicate in the system that there is coverage in the case that it is REAL. in order to stop giving false information to consumers.