About Bitbuzz
Bitbuzz is Ireland's leading Wi-Fi network, providing a range of managed services to cafe bars, hotels, pubs and other public locations throughout Ireland and Northern Ireland. Bitbuzz was founded in 2003 and soon became Ireland's best Wi-Fi network, according to a survey by Espion Research.
Bitbuzz offers a range of services to the hospitality industry as well as roaming solutions to foreign network operators.
For press enquiries or further information, please see our contact information.
Our people
Board of Directors
Shane Deasy, Managing Director
Shane Deasy is a property surveyor who valued residential and retail property before entering the telecoms industry in 1995, when he joined Esat Digifone (later O2) as a Regional Acquisition Manager.
In 2000, Shane moved to the UK to take up the position of Head of Site Acquisition & Construction for Hutchison Whampoa's 3G Network (now branded as three). This was the most successful rollout in UK history, acquiring more than 4,000 sites in less than 3 years.
In March of 2002 Shane founded Wavelink, a professional services company, and soon became involved in various high profile Wi-Fi rollouts, including O2 Ireland's Wi-Fi network (known as O2 Wireless Zone) and The Cloud, the Wi-Fi network based in 3000 pubs in the UK.
During this time, Shane identified a gap in the Irish market for the provision of a managed Wi-Fi solution to bars, hotels and coffee shops and with the rest of the management team developed the concept for Bitbuzz.
Alex French
Alex has been involved in the Internet Services market in Ireland, Europe and the Americas since 1994, most recently as Senior Product Architect for VIA NET.WORKS, Inc, a NASDAQ-listed, US-based international provider of Internet services. He was also involved in the founding of the Irish ISP Club Internet (now Magnet).
Alex holds a BA (Mod) in mathematics from Trinity College, Dublin. He has been actively involved in Internet standards bodies, including the IETF and was a member of the board of the Irish Internet Exchange (INEX).
Since 2002, Alex worked as a consultant with new and developing businesses in the Internet Services area, advising them on technology, marketing and finance issues. Based on his experiences in this sector, Alex realized that Wi-Fi services will be the most revolutionary net access technology of the next few years and joined forces with the other founders to develop this sector in Ireland.
Alex contributes regularly to radio, press and TV on technology topics. In 2006, he wrote the bestselling book "dot IE", a beginner's guide to getting online in Ireland, available from all good bookstores.
John Gunnigan
John is an independent management consultant specialising in international economic and regulatory issues.
He has many years’ experience in industry, including almost a decade spent in the telecoms sector both in the UK and Ireland. Between 1994 and 1996, John was a member of the regulatory strategy team at Mercury Communications in London. He returned to Ireland in 1996 to form part of the start-up team at Esat Digifone (later O2 Ireland), where he headed the commercial interconnection, international roaming and regulatory affairs functions. He joined the company’s senior management team in 1999 as Interconnect & Regulatory Director, and took on an expanded role to become Strategy & Business Development Director in 2002.
John left O2 in 2003 to pursue his own business and investing interests. John holds a BA in Economics and History from University College Dublin and an MSc in Economics from Birkbeck College, University of London.
Nicky Logue
Nicky Logue is Director and General Manager of Fitzpatrick Castle Killiney Co. Dublin
A Native of Ennis, Co. Clare, Nicky is a graduate of the Shannon International College of Hotel Management and trained in Ireland, Switzerland and Russia. Following graduation he spent 11 years as a General Manager working in the UK for Paramount Hotel Group, Principal Hotels and Le Meridien.
Nicky decided to return to Ireland in 2003 and joined Fitzpatricks as General Manager and in the past year was invited to join the board of the Castle.
Nicky is also Chairman of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Tourism and is immediate past President of SKAL Dublin, a Tourism organisation. He has also taken up the office of President of the Shannon College of Hotel Management Alumni for the next 2 years.
Nicky was the recipient of the award for “Hotel Manager of the Year” for 2006 from the Irish Hospitality Institute.
Stephen McCormack
Steve graduated from DIT/Trinity College with an electronic engineering degree in 1991. He joined ICL and worked in numerous roles from consulting to software development.
In 1994, he joined Exselan, where he helped set up a successful software development division. It was during this time that he began to work with the early Web, and subsequently founded Nebula Technologies, an award winning Internet software firm, in 1997,
Steve was also one of the co-founders of ItsMobile (now a division of Payzone), the world's first mobile parking payment solution, and Wildwave, an international mobile digital media company.