Eir is the largest telecommunication service provider and third largest mobile network operator in Ireland. Historically the incumbent state-owned operator Bord Telecom Éireann, the company was founded in 1984. In 1999 the company was privatised and listed on the Irish and New York Stock Exchanges, and rebranded as Eircom. Eircell, the company's mobile arm, was sold off in 2001 to rival Vodafone. The company operated without a mobile division until its acquisition of Meteor Mobile Communications Limited (Meteor) in July 2005. The Meteor network had been operational in Ireland since 1998, and was only rebranded to Eir in September 2015, with all Meteor branding ceasing in July 2017.
Eir remained a publicly listed company until its acquisition in 2016 by an investment group including Anchorage Capital Group, Davidson Kempner Capital Management, and GIC. The company was then acquired by NJJ Telecom Europe and Iliad in December 2017.
3G Network
The company operated 3G UMTS services over B1 (2100 MHz) since March 2009. The 3G network was upgraded to HSPA+ in late 2010.
3G Frequency Bands
| Network Frequency Band | Status |
|---|---|
|
Active
|
3G Network Events
| Date | Event | Subtype |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Launch of 3G Network
|
Launch
|
4G Network
4G LTE services began in September 2013 with the implementation of a dual-band B3 (1800 MHz) and B20 (800 MHz) network in partnership with Ericsson. Eir have established a physical infrastructure sharing agreement with Three Ireland. B1 was added in December 2020.
4G Frequency Bands
| Network Frequency Band | Max. Channel Bandwidth | Status |
|---|---|---|
|
10
|
Active
|
|
|
10
|
Active
|
|
|
15
|
Active
|
|
|
10
|
Active
|
4G Network Events
| Date | Event | Subtype |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Launch of 4G Network
|
Launch
|
5G Network
Eir launched its 5G network in October 2019 using mid-band spectrum. The company later added DSS bands to enhance data rates and coverage.
5G Frequency Bands
| Network Frequency Band | Max. Channel Bandwidth | Status |
|---|---|---|
|
80
|
Active
|
|
|
15
|
Active
|
5G Network Events
| Date | Event | Subtype |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Launch of 5G Network
|
Launch
|