Wholesale broadband operator SIRO has announced it is launching a bespoke broadband product created for developers building new homes across Ireland. SIRO's new product, OpenPort, will streamline the delivery of fibre broadband services to housing developments by instead providing a shared access broadband infrastructure on-site. This will avoid, as currently occurs, the costly overduplication of telecom infrastructures amongst multiple operators seeking to provide services to new housing estates.

Under forthcoming regulations, the Gigabit Infrastructure Act, which will take effect in Ireland from February 2026, developers are required to provide a fibre broadband infrastructure on-site, which is accessible to multiple telecoms network operators.

SIRO's new product, OpenPort, responds to this requirement by providing developers with a shared access fibre broadband service for their new developments, which will be compliant with these regulations.

Currently, to enable multiple operators to serve a housing development, developers have been required to accommodate multiple broadband infrastructures on-site.

The negative impact of this method of rolling out fibre broadband in new developments has been the unnecessary duplication of broadband infrastructure on-site. This can lead to not only excessive expenditure, but also the avoidable use of limited site space to facilitate these multiple infrastructures.

With SIRO's OpenPort, developers will still be able to accommodate multiple fibre broadband operators on their developments, but with the advantage of using a single network infrastructure, substantially reducing the cost of deploying fibre broadband networks to new homes across the country. A developer moving to SIRO's OpenPort product will also enjoy environmental benefits by reducing the construction works needed to facilitate fibre broadband rollouts.

For homeowners and tenants, they will continue to enjoy choice and competition by maintaining access to multiple telecoms retailers.

SIRO has announced that its first OpenPort new development site will be at Monaleen in Limerick city. The development, known as The Orchard, is being constructed by one of Ireland's leading developers, Homeland, and will see 131 new homes constructed at the site. These homes are expected to have first occupancy by Spring 2026.

With Homeland Group's The Orchard development, the first new development to adopt OpenPort, SIRO has confirmed that the product will be available to all developers from 2026 onwards.

Commenting on OpenPort, SIRO CEO John Keaney said: "Delivering fast and future-proofed fibre broadband infrastructure and services to new homes is a small but essential part of the construction of new homes overall. A high-quality fibre-to-the-home broadband connection is now a non-negotiable for all homes, supporting how we now live and work.

"Like all the component parts of developing new homes, rolling out fibre broadband infrastructure comes at a cost - environmental, financial, resource and time - to broadband operators, developers and consumers."

"Initiatives, like OpenPort, which can streamline the delivery process, reduce the timelines, and maintain efficiency and effectiveness of building fibre broadband networks in new developments, are key. By reducing overduplication of broadband networks on new development sites, SIRO's OpenPort will also give back much-needed site space to developers and provide wider sustainability benefits.

"SIRO is excited to bring this product to market for developers from next year. We have already had incredibly positive feedback from key stakeholders in the construction industry who understand the benefits it can offer," added Mr Keaney.

Homeland Construction Director Mike Quaid added:

"Homeland has worked with SIRO to deliver fibre broadband to our new homes across the country for several years now. The construction industry is constantly challenged to innovate, build more sustainably and efficiently, wh...