SMARTPHONE FANS will soon be able to download data at considerably higher speeds, thanks to a €38 million network investment announced yesterday by mobile broadband provider 3.

Customers of 3 who are in large urban areas will be able to access mobile broadband speeds of up to 100 mb per second once a fibre network roll-out has been completed. This compares to a current speed of 14.4 mb per second.

Customers in more remote areas will also be able to “do more and do it faster”, a spokesman for 3 said, as the upgrade will bring enhanced mobile broadband services to the “very edges of Ireland”.

BT Ireland has secured the contract to carry out 3’s network expansion, which will take place over the next 18 months.

The project will see BT roll out its fibre network to more than 200 new mobile sites, as well as adding extra capacity to another 1,000 locations that already serve 3’s customer base.

The State’s four large cities – Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway – will enjoy greater bandwidth capacity, as will big provincial towns, and more remote areas will also enjoy improved broadband quality.

As well as improving the service provided to its customers, the network upgrade will also benefit 3 by reducing operating costs, it said.

A spokesman for the company said the investment would drive the smartphone revolution, while cementing 3’s position “as having the largest broadband footprint in Ireland”.

“Key features of this new solution, such as ethernet network bandwidth with scalability and flexibility, will enable 3 to stay competitive by providing a market leading network for their customers,” chief executive of BT Ireland Graham Sutherland said.

BT Ireland has been working with 3 for the past seven years.