Dublin-based energy and infrastructure company KelTech IoE has landed a €21 million five-year contract with Hosted America, a U.S. fibre network operator, to bring next-generation connectivity to one million homes in underserved communities across the U.S.
The deal will see KelTech’s ‘Label on a Cable’ (LOC) solution deployed in a large-scale fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) rollout.
Founder Mark Kellet highlighted the industry-wide inefficiencies that LOC aims to resolve, particularly in data centres. “You wouldn’t believe the number of big companies who still rely on a big of paper wrapped around a cable for identification purposes, even though it causes huge issues. Research from the Uptime Institute estimates that 70 per cent of downtime in data centres is due to human error, with lost or mistaken labelling, a key issue. What we’ve come up with is a simple solution that solves this.”
Founded in 2019 by Mark Kellet, former chief executive of Magnet Networks, KelTech IoE focuses on transforming how infrastructure is powered, connected and managed.
The company’s flagship product is a dual distributed network solution that combines electricity and fibre optics into a single hybrid cable, enabling faster and more cost-efficient infrastructure deployment.
The Hosted America contract is centred on the LOC solution, a smart NFC-enabled tagging system that streamlines the management of fibre assets. By providing real-time data on network infrastructure, LOC enhances operational efficiency, network visibility and maintenance processes.
The contract marks KelTech’s largest deal for LOC to date, though the company says they are already in discussions with other potential customers. Among its early adopters is Boldyn Networks, which has incorporated LOC into its 20-year partnership with Transport for London (TfL) to deliver high-speed mobile coverage across the London Underground network.
KelTech IoE also played a pivotal role in modernising the National Library of Ireland’s (NLI) security infrastructure, overcoming significant limitations in power and distance for its CCTV network. Faced with the challenge of integrating multiple buildings and extensive grounds into a single, centralised monitoring system, NLI required a solution beyond the capabilities of traditional Power over Ethernet (PoE). KelTech’s Dual Distribution Network (DDN) provided the answer, delivering 20 times the power and range of standard PoE technology. This enabled seamless integration of a central Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS), expanded surveillance coverage to every required location, and streamlined deployment through a hybrid power and data system.
Kellet acknowledged the long-term nature of KelTech’s primary distributed network solution but emphasised LOC’s immediate commercial appeal. “The Distributed Dat network solution, remains our flagship solution but as an infrastructure product, it is a long-term play. LOC is expected to be a big winner in terms of revenues in the interim. In talks with potential customers it really has emerged as a ‘why didn’t I think of that solution’.”
Kellet was recently among a delegation of Irish business leaders invited to the New York Stock Exchange to ring the opening bell on Ireland Day.
Read the orginal article: https://www.eu-startups.com/2025/03/keltech-ioe-secures-e21-million-contract-for-smart-fibre-management-in-the-us/
