Ryanair invests €15 million into comms network

Budget airline RyanAir has spent 15 million (13.5 million) to consolidate and makeover its Europe-wide IT and communications network.

The new network, implemented by Cable & Wireless as part of a five-year deal, will connect 180 airports in 26 countries.

In addition to airport communication, the network will cover bases, data centres and corporate offices. It will also support consumer interactions such as online booking, online check in and Ryanair's latest installation of touch screen check-in kiosks.

Eric Neville, head of IT for Ryanair, said in a statement: "As we develop our facilities, it is important that we have a communication network that delivers what we need in terms of reliability and operational effectiveness, but also has the capacity to grow its Pan-European network."

Each location will be connected to Cable & Wireless' next-generation network via a single, high-speed Wide Area Network (WAN). The company claims this is secure, reliable and scalable.

Jennifer Scott is a former freelance journalist and currently political reporter for Sky News. She has a varied writing history, having started her career at Dennis Publishing, working in various roles across its business technology titles, including ITPro. Jennifer has specialised in a number of areas over the years and has produced a wealth of content for ITPro, focusing largely on data storage, networking, cloud computing, and telecommunications.

Most recently Jennifer has turned her skills to the political sphere and broadcast journalism, where she has worked for the BBC as a political reporter, before moving to Sky News.