Three Ireland (3) is a national telecommunications service provider and mobile network operator in Ireland. The company was founded in 1996, then known as Esat Digifone. Esat Digifone was very quickly acquired by O2 Plc, becoming O2 Ireland in 1997. The O2 brand remained until 2006 when Spanish telecoms giant Telefónica acquired the company. Telefónica Ireland was itself acquired by CK Hutchison's Hutchison Whampoa arm in June 2013. The rebranding process was completed in March 2015.
3G Network
The company operated 2G GSM services over the 900 and 1800 MHz bands, and launched 3G UMTS services over B1 (2100 MHz) in December 2006.
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 January 2014 when the company launched a B20 (800 MHz) carrier, and shortly following with a B3 (1800 MHz) carrier. 4G+ LTE-Advanced services were introduced March 2016, providing peak data rates up to 225 Mbps.
B1 (2100 MHz) was added in February 2021, with B28 (700 MHz) following shortly after.
4G Frequency Bands
| Network Frequency Band | Max. Channel Bandwidth | Status | Known EARFCNs |
|---|---|---|---|
|
15
|
Active
|
525
|
|
|
20
|
Active
|
1700
|
|
|
10
|
Active
|
6300
|
|
|
10
|
Active
|
9360
|
4G Network Events
| Date | Event | Subtype |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Launch of 4G Network
|
Launch
|
5G Network
The company's 5G network was launched in September 2020 using n78 (3500 MHz). The network was upgraded with the addition of n1 (2100 MHz) in December 2023, and with a transition to Standalone (SA) in January 2024.
5G Frequency Bands
| Network Frequency Band | Max. Channel Bandwidth | Status |
|---|---|---|
|
15
|
Active
|
|
|
100
|
Active
|
5G Network Events
| Date | Event | Subtype |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Launch of 5G Network
|
Launch
|