Seán Bolger, a former chief executive of telecoms company Imagine Communications, has died suddenly at the age of 58.
Mr Bolger, who stepped back from his role as Imagine chief executive in February last year, was a well-known figure in the telecom industry, having fought several high-profile battles throughout his career.
The Rathfarnham-based entrepreneur established Imagine in 1998, growing the business to become a major provider of fixed-wireless broadband to rural Ireland. But it wasn’t his first battle with a bigger opponent. In 1993, he entered the telecoms business with international calls firm ITL. At the time it was Telecom Éireann’s only competitor in a market where the incumbent had enjoyed a monopoly.
That business was merged with Norway’s Netsource in 1997 and, after a number of acquisitions, Bolger sold it for $300 million. In 2003, he bought back the Irish business and merged it with Imagine.
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[ Imagine plans €300m wireless broadband networkOpens in new window ]
That set the scene for another battle, this time with mobile company Eircell over the right to provide competitive mobile services that ended up in the High Court. Although the court found for Imagine on a number of contractual issues, it ultimately rejected the contention that there had been a breach of competition law by Eircell.
He oversaw the business’s reinvention as a fixed-wireless provider in 2008 and the subsequent purchase of Irish Broadband and Clearwire, which further boosted its infrastructure.
In 2016, the company sold its retail business division, comprising up to 5,500 customers, to rival telco Magnet.
[ Broadband provider claims national plan will affect ‘ability to compete’Opens in new window ]
Canadian investment giant Brookfield Asset Management took a major stake in the wireless broadband group in 2018, in a deal that was said to value Imagine at €200 million and helped fund the company‘s wireless technology to other European markets.
After Mr Bolger stepped back from Imagine last year, citing “personal reasons”, he continued to serve on the board of the telecoms company. He is survived by his wife and four children.
