Northern Ireland Broadband Superfast Fibre Broadband in Northern Ireland

Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster has welcomed today’s announcement by BT to invest in broadband technologies and infrastructure over the next 12 months.

This new investment will upgrade over 780 cabinets containing fibre-optic broadband equipment and has the potential to create up to 60 new jobs.

Once completed over 2400 cabinets will be fibre enabled and it is estimated that 88% of telephone lines will be connected to a fibre enabled access point.  

Arlene Foster said: “This is a very significant investment that once again positions Northern Ireland as a broadband leader and one of the best connected areas in Europe.

“Telecoms is undoubtedly one of Northern Ireland’s crown jewels and it is a key element of the Executive’s plans to build a modern, efficient, infrastructure.  Advanced telecoms will play an important part in the Northern Ireland Executive’s goal to develop a knowledge-based economy.

“Today’s announcement shows how the public and private sectors can work together to deliver local solutions to local problems.”

The Minister added: “In the past three years, the Northern Ireland Executive, with support from the European Union, has invested over £50m, in various telecoms projects. These have improved our international connectivity, our internal connectivity, brought broadband services to some of our more remote rural areas and ensured a basic broadband service is available to everyone.”

Urging local businesses to recognise the opportunities that exist as a result of this investment the Minister continued: “Substantial investment in bringing lightning-fast broadband to businesses, schools, colleges and individuals and delivers significant economic and social benefits for the whole of Northern Ireland.  I want to urge businesses to take full advantage of an improved telecoms infrastructure to help them compete in a fast-moving global market-place.”

Arlene Foster concluded: “Having one of the best telecommunications infrastructure in Europewill help to attract a more diverse range of high growth, high value companies to Northern Ireland and enhance local company’s potential to grow their export business.”

Notes to Editors:

1. On 2 December 2009 the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) signed a £18m contract with BT for the delivery of access to next generation broadband services to businesses across NI by 2011.  BT itself is investing close to £30m in the project, with a further £16.5m coming from DETI, under the European Regional Development Fund’s (ERDF) European Sustainable Competitiveness Programme and £1.5m from Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD), under the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) Rural Development Programme. This project will see upgrades take place at 166 exchanges and 1,175 cabinets across all of Northern Ireland. 

 

2. In January 2011 DARD allocated an additional £1m to DETI to further supplement the overall allocation to rural areas from £12m to £13m (£10.5m of this total is DETI funding). This additional £1m of government funding levered a further £1m of match funding from BT which together has been allocated to upgrading a further 40 cabinets. This will make faster broadband services available to an additional 10,000 lines across 20 exchange districts.

3. Project Kelvin is a joint DETI and DCENR project, part funded under the EU INTERREG IVA programme, bringing for the first time a direct international telecommunications link between North America and Northern Ireland, and improving telecoms connectivity with Europe. A €29.5m contract for delivery of the project was awarded in December 2008 to Hibernia Atlantic. 

 

1. In August 2008 DETI launched the £1.9m NI Broadband Fund supported under the European Regional Development Fund’s (ERDF) European Sustainable Competitiveness Programme. Since its launch DETI has committed almost £900k in telecoms infrastructure projects in some of the most the most rural parts of Northern Ireland.

1. In November 2008 DETI awarded a £3.9m contract to Commendium to deliver a supplier neutral broadband advisory services to SMEs across all Northern Ireland. The contract was supported under the European Regional Development Fund’s (ERDF) European Sustainable Competitiveness Programme. A fixed demonstration centre is located in Omagh with a team of broadband advisers and a mobile demonstration facility is also available.

 

1. In January 2009 DETI awarded Avanti Communications a £1.25m contract to deliver satellite broadband services to the most rural and remote areas of Northern Ireland.

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