Siro Warns WIK-Consult Broadband Plan Could Add €2,500 to New House Costs
Siro warns that WIK-Consult's broadband infrastructure advice to the State could add €2,500 to new house prices. This plan, commissioned by the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport, proposes new underground cables, contrasting with Siro's OpenPort, which uses existing ESB networks. Siro-commissioned research estimates WIK-Consult's proposal could add €390 million to housing costs over five years.
Internet provider Siro warns that advice given to the State by German firm WIK-Consult on new broadband infrastructure could increase the price of new houses by €2,500. Last year, the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport commissioned WIK-Consult to advise on implementing the new EU Gigabit Infrastructure Act (GIA), which shifts responsibility for fibre broadband infrastructure to developers.
WIK-Consult proposed new underground cables from each home to a telecommunications chamber network and advised against using existing utility infrastructure. Siro, jointly owned by ESB and Vodafone, launched OpenPort last year, a product that uses the existing ESB electricity network to install broadband cables, avoiding separate underground infrastructure and offered at no cost to developers.
Research by Mitchell McDermott, commissioned by Siro, found WIK-Consult's proposal could add €390 million to home building costs over five years compared to Siro's alternative. Specifically, WIK-Consult's recommendation would add €2,500 to a house's building cost versus €900 for Siro's option, and €1,225 per apartment unit compared to Siro's €341. Siro emphasizes that the department should avoid measures that increase new home delivery costs in Ireland, stating WIK-Consult's proposals risk diverging from GIA principles and could add up to €400 million to housing delivery costs over the next five years.