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eir posts 2 Gbps 5G peak speeds in five Irish cities

eir posts 2 Gbps 5G peak speeds in five Irish cities

Wed, 21st Oct 2026 (Today)
Sofiah Nichole Salivio
SOFIAH NICHOLE SALIVIO News Editor

eir has recorded peak 5G speeds above 2 Gbps in five Irish cities at selected high-footfall locations in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford.

The telecoms provider said the speeds were measured on Grafton Street in Dublin, St Patrick's Street in Cork, Eyre Square in Galway, O'Connell Street in Limerick and Barrowstrand Street in Waterford. It said the tests formed part of a wider investment programme focused on mobile network capacity and resilience.

The announcement marks a network milestone for eir as competition among operators increasingly centres on 5G coverage, availability and performance in crowded urban areas. It said the results build on recognition from Opensignal, which ranked its network first in Ireland for both 5G Coverage Experience and 5G Availability.

Mobile operators have been investing in denser infrastructure and spectrum use to manage rising data demand in city centres, transport corridors and retail districts. eir said its latest round of testing focused on premium shopping areas with heavy footfall.

It said stronger network performance in busy locations can support data-intensive uses such as streaming, gaming, content sharing and remote working. Greater reliability in public spaces is also part of the rationale for investing in these parts of the network.

eir is Ireland's largest provider of fixed-line telecommunications services and also operates mobile services under the eir and GoMo brands. Its fibre-to-the-home network reaches more than 1.5 million homes and businesses across the country, while its wholesale arm, open eir, supplies telecoms products and services to domestic and international customers.

The group said the mobile milestone reflects ongoing spending across both its mobile and fibre networks. While eir is Ireland's third-largest mobile operator by revenue and customer numbers, it has sought to underline network quality as a point of differentiation.

Oliver Loomes, Chief Executive Officer of eir, said the investment was aimed at locations where customer demand is highest.

"Our customers expect fast, reliable connectivity wherever they live, work and travel. That is why we continue to invest in the capacity, performance and resilience of our network, particularly in the places where demand is greatest. Recording peak 5G speeds above 2 Gbps across Ireland's five cities is an important milestone, but the real measure of progress is the experience we deliver every day, helping customers stay connected, access the services they rely on and do more on the move. This investment is central to our purpose to connect for a better Ireland and to building the digital infrastructure the country needs for the future," Loomes said.

High-speed mobile performance depends not only on spectrum holdings but also on site design, backhaul, traffic management and continual network optimisation. eir said the results came from selected high-demand sites, indicating a targeted approach rather than a blanket claim about average user speeds across each city.

That distinction matters because peak speeds are typically recorded under controlled or favourable conditions and do not necessarily reflect everyday performance for all users. Still, speeds above 2 Gbps place the measurements in the multi-gigabit range that operators increasingly use to demonstrate the technical headroom of newer 5G networks.

Fergal McCann, Chief Technology Officer of eir, linked the outcome to network design and spectrum use.

"Delivering peak 5G speeds above 2 Gbps in selected high-demand locations across all five cities reflects the performance, capacity and sophistication of eir's mobile network. Achieving this requires much more than speed alone. It depends on careful network design, targeted investment, effective use of our unique spectrum and continuous optimisation to support large numbers of customers in busy locations. This milestone is a testament to the expertise and commitment of our network teams, whose work behind the scenes is strengthening performance and improving the customer experience across Ireland," McCann said.

The measurements highlight how operators are trying to move beyond broad 5G coverage claims and show performance in high-traffic city locations where networks often come under the greatest strain. For eir, the latest figures serve as a public marker of that effort across the country's five cities.