ESB Telecoms Ltd has announced its collaboration with Geo Networks Ltd in the UK to operate a new subsea fibre optic cable connecting Clonshaugh, Dublin to Anglesey, Wales which will go live in 2011.

The subsea connection, on which Internet Service provider Cogent Communications will be the debut customer, is a new venture with Geo, who are focused on designing and building bespoke dedicated fibre network solutions across the UK and now in Ireland.

Together ESB Telecoms Ltd and Geo will be able to offer the most advanced, reliable and high performance solution ever to connect Ireland and the UK which will provide their customers with access to an extensive Irish and UK footprint and virtually unlimited, low latency bandwidth. Targeting users of high data volumes, the unique strength of this Agreement is based on its ability to provide 'dedicated' fibre solutions, with no restrictions on what customers do with it or how much capacity they use.

The Agreement will benefit from ESB Telecoms Ltd extensive fibre network throughout Dublin and Ireland and Geo's high quality and reliable fibre optic network spanning 3,000km in the UK, connecting all major commercial centres. In addition Geo own the most reliable fibre optic network in London.

"We are delighted to be part of this venture," said Tom Bambury, General Manager, ESB Telecoms Ltd. "The combination of this initiative with both of our extensive terrestrial fibre optic assets means that we can now offer our clients an unrivalled network footprint on both sides of the Irish Sea", he added.

The subsea cable will benefit from the most modern fibre technologies providing virtually limitless capacity, future-proofed for even the most demanding requirements. The route eliminates the need for subsea repeaters or amplification technology, ensuring that customers can use standard transmission equipment with the lowest latency.

"We are delighted to be working with ESB Telecoms Ltd. This collaboration will result in an unprecedented fibre based offering to customers of both organisations", said Chris Smedley, Chief Executive, Geo. "With the combination of network reach in both the UK and Ireland, our commercial model and the very design of this subsea connection, we fully expect this important new network to be of huge value to the Irish, Welsh and English economies for many years to come."

As well as offering scalable bandwidth with simple and rapid upgrades as requirements dictate, customers will also benefit from Geo's commercial pricing model which consistently demonstrates a far lower total cost of ownership over time than traditional telecom offerings.

Cogent Communication the leading multinational Tier 1 Internet Service Provider has already signed up, allowing it to offer its UK and European customers' continuous connectivity to Ireland.

ESB Telecoms Ltd are very pleased to have partnered with Geo on this project and look forward to being able to offer our customers' access to the UK in 2011.