Best SIRO broadband provider in Ireland

If the Eircode checker has come back “SIRO”, the hard part is over. The fibre on the ESB pole is the same whoever you pay. What you are choosing now is a retailer: the price for months one to twelve, the price from month thirteen, whether an April letter lands inside the contract, the router in the box and the phone queue when it breaks. We score 5 retailers that sell SIRO — Vodafone, Pure Telecom, Sky, Digiweb and Imagine — and this page ranks them for that one job.

Our SIRO #1 is Vodafone: it co-owns the network with ESB, it advertises symmetrical upload on SIRO, and its standing prices (€40 on 500 Mb, €50 on 1 Gb) do not jump when the contract ends. Pure Telecom is the fairest contract on the same pole. Sky is the cheapest 500 Mb first year at €30 — and the dearest second year at €67.50. Digiweb has the cheapest gigabit over two years (€1,085 all-in). Imagine is new to SIRO in 2026 with a price freeze to 2030 and a rolling contract.

What this page is not: an explanation of SIRO (that is SIRO explained), or an argument about SIRO against Open Eir (SIRO vs Open Eir). Prices are published August 2026 intros from our dataset, not commissions, and we do not invent lab Mbps.

Who actually sells SIRO in 2026

SIRO says more than twenty retailers can sell on its network. The home-broadband page on siro.ie (checked August 2026) shows eleven logos: Sky, Virgin Media, Digiweb, Vodafone, Blacknight, Ivertec, Fastcom, Airwire, Westnet, Carnsore Broadband and Pure Telecom. Its business page adds Viatel, IMS Connect, Synoptic and Telcom. Imagine signed its SIRO access deal in February 2026 and is selling fibre on it now, though its logo had not made the siro.ie home page when we looked.

We rank five of those — the national brands plus the Irish independents with published consumer prices we can hold to a dataset. The others are worth a quote in the right county:

• Airwire (Galway / the west) and Westnet (Mayo / the north-west) are regional ISPs that moved from wireless onto SIRO. Good for a local number that answers; prices change too often for a national table.
• Carnsore Broadband (Wexford), Ivertec (Kerry) and Fastcom (Sligo / Leitrim) are the same story in their own corners.
• Blacknight is the Carlow hosting company; it sells SIRO and Open Eir fibre mainly to people who already host with it.
• Virgin Media is on the siro.ie list because it signed a wholesale deal in 2022 to reach 450,000 SIRO premises outside its own cable. Our dataset scores Virgin on its own cable and fibre footprint, so it sits out of this ranking — but if a Virgin 1 Gb offer is quoted at a SIRO-only address, that is SIRO glass with a Virgin router on it.
• Eir is not on the list and will not be. Eir retail sells Open Eir and NBI, not SIRO.

What is identical no matter who you pay

People switch SIRO retailer expecting a faster line. They get the same line. Everything on the outside of the house belongs to SIRO:

• The fibre. Glass from the exchange to the ESB pole to your wall. No copper tail, no cabinet, no “up to 100 Mb” asterisk. SIRO describes it as fibre to the building with no copper at any point.
• The ONT. The white SIRO box near the meter. It is SIRO’s, it stays when you switch, and a new retailer just posts a router to plug into it.
• The speed ceiling. SIRO wholesale runs 500 Mb, 1 Gb, 2 Gb and 5 Gb to homes, and says the network is built with capacity to 25 Gb. Business lines already go to 10 Gb symmetrical. Whether you can buy 2 Gb or 5 Gb is a retailer menu decision, not a network one.
• The install. One of SIRO’s approved installers (Actavo does the majority) brings the drop overhead or underground alongside the ESB supply, fixes an external connector box beside the meter, and fits the ONT inside. Same crew, same four-hour-ish visit, whichever logo is on the order.
• No phone line. SIRO does not use one. Every retailer on this page sells it without a landline; a VoIP number is an optional extra, not a rental.

So “Vodafone is faster than Sky on SIRO” is a router and a plan tier, not the pole. If the speed test disappoints, read not getting the advertised speed before you blame the network.

What actually differs between SIRO retailers

Six things, and they are all in the contract, not the cable.

Router. Vodafone ships its own Wi-Fi 6 gateway, Sky the Sky Broadband Hub, Pure and Digiweb a Wi-Fi 6 modem-router, Imagine Wi-Fi 7 kit on 5G and a standard fibre router on SIRO. All of them plug into the same ONT over Ethernet, which is why a SIRO line is the easiest in Ireland to put your own router on — see use your own router.

Support. Faults go to the retailer, who raises them with SIRO; you never ring SIRO. Vodafone won Switcher.ie’s 2026 technical-support award, Sky its customer-service award, Digiweb has the small-company reputation, and Pure’s pitch is a shorter Irish queue. Imagine is the unknown on SIRO — its support history is wireless.

Phone line. None needed. Pure is the one that prices a “+ phone” variant on the shelf (€35 then €55 instead of €50). If you want to keep a number, port it to a VoIP add-on — do I need a landline covers how.

1 Gb on SIRO: what 24 months really costs

Gigabit is the tier that makes SIRO worth choosing over leftover Open Eir. Here is the full two-year bill per retailer — promo months at the intro, the rest at the thereafter price, setup included, April rises left out because only two of the five have one.

Read it as a decision, not a league table. Digiweb is cheapest over two years, but it is a 12-month contract with a €29.95 setup fee, so the honest Digiweb play is to switch or haggle at month 12 and never see the second year at all. Vodafone asks €25 more over 24 months for a symmetrical gigabit and a 24-month price you can plan around — minus the April €3.50. Pure and Sky tie on the sticker and diverge on character: Pure has no hike, Sky has the TV. Imagine’s 500 Mb is listed so you can see where a rolling, frozen price lands against the others.

If 1 Gb is more than the house needs, the 500 Mb sums reorder: Sky’s €30 wins year one, Vodafone’s €40 standing price wins year two. What speed do I need is the honest place to settle that first.

SIRO install facts the retailers do not print

Whichever shop you pick, you are booking the same SIRO install. A few things to know before the van arrives:

• The drop follows the electricity. SIRO’s fibre rides ESB infrastructure, so the drop to your house comes the way your power does — overhead from the pole, or underground to the meter box. If the electricity cable is overhead, the fibre is too, and ESB Networks is involved in the run along the line.
• The retailer books it; SIRO’s installer does it. You order from Vodafone, Sky, Pure, Digiweb or Imagine. They place a wholesale order, an approved installer (Actavo handles about three quarters of SIRO home installs) rings to agree a slot, and the engineer surveys, runs the fibre, fixes an external connector box beside the ESB meter, fits the ONT inside and proves the speed. Expect minor drilling and agree where the ONT and router go before the drill comes out.
• Lead time. Underground drops typically go live within about two weeks of ordering. Overhead drops that need ESB Networks on the pole run longer — four to six weeks is the figure Irish switching sites and customers keep quoting. A long private drive or a blocked duct adds more. Do not cancel the old line until the ONT is lit.
• An existing Open Eir line stays as it is. SIRO is a physically separate network. Moving from an Eir / Sky / Vodafone Open Eir plan to SIRO is a new install, not a switch on the same wire, so the old service keeps running until you cancel it — overlap a fortnight rather than go dark. Switching between SIRO retailers later is the easy case: ONT stays, new router in the post.
• Already-connected houses skip all of this. If the previous owner or tenant had SIRO and the ONT is on the wall, siro.ie says to simply order from a retailer; they post a modem and you plug in. The install lead time becomes a delivery lead time.
• New estates. SIRO OpenPort builds the fibre in with the houses. The drop exists; you still need a retailer to light it.

For the mechanics of cancelling the old provider without an early-termination bill, use how to switch broadband and early termination fees.

Does Vodafone get a better deal on its own network?

Vodafone Group owns half of SIRO; ESB owns the other half. That is why Vodafone’s fibre marketing leans on SIRO, and why people assume Vodafone must be cheaper on it. It is not, at least not on the sticker.

SIRO is a regulated, open-access wholesaler. It sells the same product on the same terms to Vodafone as to Sky or a three-person ISP in Wexford — that is the deal that let it build on ESB poles in the first place. What Vodafone gets from co-ownership is product, not a discount: it is the retailer that advertises symmetrical 500/500 and 1000/1000 on SIRO, and 2 Gb symmetrical at €55, while Sky sells the same pole with 100 Mb upload on its 500 Mb and 1 Gb tiers. Vodafone’s intro (€35 on 1 Gb) is not the cheapest on this page; its standing price with no thereafter cliff is the real argument.

Two things the co-ownership does not fix: the flat €3.50 April rise Vodafone applies inside the contract, and the fact that the SIRO install is the same Actavo van whoever you ordered from. Read the Vodafone review for the full contract, and April price rises for what €3.50 a year compounds to.

SIRO or Open Eir at the same address?

Plenty of town Eircodes can get both. The short answer: if the Open Eir side is FTTC (copper from the cabinet, ~100 Mb), take SIRO every time. If the Open Eir side is FTTH, the two networks are both real fibre and you are really choosing a retailer again — Sky, Vodafone and Pure sell both, so compare their SIRO and Open Eir quotes for the same tier, then lean SIRO for symmetrical upload (Vodafone, Digiweb) and Open Eir only if a specific plan or Eir TV bundle is cheaper at that address. Full head-to-head, with the landline and install differences: SIRO vs Open Eir. The wider map is Open Eir vs SIRO vs NBI vs Virgin.

How we ranked the SIRO retailers

The order is our editorial score from the national dataset, restricted to retailers whose plans we can tie to the SIRO network. The scores weigh year-two cost, contract fairness (thereafter, April letters), the upload you actually get on the tier, coverage and service reputation. They do not weigh commissions, and they do not include Mbps we have not measured.

• Vodafone 9.3 — symmetrical tiers, standing prices with no cliff, co-owner. Loses marks for the April €3.50 and a six-month promo.
• Pure Telecom 9.1 — no built-in hike, 12-month terms, Irish-owned. Loses marks for 100 Mb / 200 Mb upload and no gigabit bargain.
• Sky 8.8 — cheapest 500 Mb year one, strong TV, good service scores. Loses marks for the harshest thereafter on the pole and 100 Mb upload.
• Digiweb 8.7 — cheapest symmetrical gigabit over two years, “No CPI Increase”, 2 Gb. Loses marks for the setup fee and a smaller footprint of plans.
• Imagine 8.1 — rolling contract, freeze to 2030, SIRO since 2026. Loses marks because the 500 Mb thereafter is the dearest standing price here and there is no gigabit tier yet.

If you want the national view rather than the SIRO-only one, the hub is best broadband in Ireland; the all-fibre version is best fibre broadband. This page is only for the house where the checker has already said SIRO.

Our SIRO picks, retailer by retailer

Vodafone — best SIRO retailer overall

500 Mb at €25 for 6 months then €40 standing on 24 months; 1 Gb €35 then €50; 2 Gb symmetrical on top. No thereafter cliff at month 25. Symmetrical upload is the SIRO-specific reason to pick it over Sky on the same pole. Budget the €3.50 April rise. Vodafone review.

Pure Telecom — fairest SIRO contract

€35 then €50 on 500 Mb, €40 then €70 on 1 Gb, 12 months, free install, no built-in hike, Irish-owned. The 500 Mb is €210 a year cheaper than Sky from month 13. Upload is the compromise. Pure Telecom review.

Sky — cheapest 500 Mb year one

€30 for 12 months on 500 Mb is the lowest intro on SIRO; €67.50 thereafter is the highest. 1 Gb is €40 then €70; 5 Gb is on the menu at €55 if the address supports it. Take Sky if you will switch at month 12 or you want Sky TV on the bill. Sky review.

Digiweb — cheapest SIRO gigabit

SIRO Gigabit €37.95 for 12 months then €49.95, €29.95 setup, symmetrical, Wi-Fi 6 modem in the box, “No CPI Increase”. SIRO 2 Gb is €59.95 then €70 with free install. The best sticker for a gigabit in a SIRO town, from an Irish company that answers. Digiweb review.

Imagine — rolling contract, price freeze to 2030

Fibre Starter 500 at €45 for 6 months then €55, symmetrical, leave-anytime, with Imagine’s freeze to December 2030 on selected plans. New to SIRO in 2026 and dearer from month seven than every other 500 Mb here — pay for the flexibility only if you need it. Imagine review.

About the author

Darragh Murphy

Broadband & Fixed-Line Specialist

Darragh Murphy has tested and compared Irish broadband services since 2018. He runs matched.ie’s real-world speed and reliability tests across fibre, cable and rural fixed-wireless connections.

8+ years analysing Irish broadband performanceTested 50+ providers including Eir, Virgin Media, Sky and SIROCertified in Cisco Networking and Openreach fibre standardsBased in Galway, regularly covers rural rollout issues