News

Foster announces major investment in superfast broadband

March 2nd 2015

Enterprise, Trade and Investment Minister, Arlene Foster, has announced details of a major £17 million investment to help improve the broadband infrastructure across Northern Ireland.

The Superfast Rollout Programme, which will be delivered by BT, is specifically aimed at improving coverage of superfast broadband.

Arlene Foster said; “This announcement is a further step in improving superfast broadband services across Northern Ireland. It will bring more choice and improve speeds to over 38,000 premises. As a result of previous investments by the Executive, many people across Northern Ireland now enjoy some of the best telecoms services in the UK.

“The Superfast Rollout Programme is another significant step in making superfast broadband services more widely available. It represents a joint investment of £17 million by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, the Department of Culture Media and Sport, as part of its Superfast Britain investment, and BT.

“It is envisaged the Project will begin with an extensive survey and design process which will take place over a number of months. BT will then begin re-engineering the network changing it into a fibre rich, open access network enabling more people to enjoy and utilise the benefits of superfast broadband.”

UK Digital Economy Minister Ed Vaizey added:"Our UK wide rollout of superfast broadband is proceeding at pace and we've already reached more than two million properties. Today's announcement is fantastic news for Northern Ireland - this additional funding will see tens of thousands more homes and businesses able to access superfast speeds and will provide a tremendous boost to Northern Ireland's economy."

Colm O’ Neill, Chief Executive, BT Northern Ireland also commented; “The Superfast Rollout Programme marks another successful step in Northern Ireland’s broadband journey, helping to strengthen its position as one of the best regions in Europe for fibre speeds and availability.”

“For BT, this latest investment signifies our on-going commitment to support Northern Ireland’s continued economic growth by future-proofing our infrastructure for the next generation. We’re looking forward now to getting out into communities and enabling even more homes and businesses to enjoy the transformational benefits of superfast broadband”