Irish telecommunications operator Three Ireland has completed €1.2 million (£1.02 million) programme of 4G and 5G network upgrades at high-footfall environments including major stadiums, live entertainment venues, and transport hubs.

The upgrades form part of €2 billion (£1.7 billion) invested by Three to date to develop its business in Ireland, including €1.1 billion (£935 million) dedicated to upgrading and expanding its network and IT infrastructure, enhancing customer experience through improved connectivity at critical gathering points by Business Plus.

The investment has been focused on delivering high-capacity, resilient network to ensure Three can support growing demand across the economy. Locations upgraded in latest phase include Croke Park, Aviva Stadium, 3Arena, Dublin Airport, and Dundrum Town Centre.

At 3Arena, Three has upgraded both its 4G and 5G infrastructure throughout the building, improving coverage, capacity, and throughput during sell-out concerts. Performance testing carried out during fully sold-out event shows that prior to upgrade it took average of six seconds to upload 5MB video, compared with approximately 2.5 seconds following enhancements.

Declan Gaffney, director of radio access networks at Three Ireland, stated, "Large venues and busy public spaces place unique demands on mobile networks, as data usage continues to grow. Thousands of people in one place all want to share content, communicate, pay and stay connected at the same time. These upgrades are about making sure connectivity works when it matters most, both in everyday settings and in the places people come together in large numbers."

Three continues to invest heavily in its network at Electric Picnic, Ireland's largest music festival, which attracts approximately 80,000 people over three-day period.

Explore how telecommunications operators are enhancing customer experience through targeted high-traffic network infrastructure upgrades in the complete coverage.