Openreach, Northern Ireland’s largest broadband network provider, has announced its commitment to invest over £100 million to expand and maintain its Ultrafast Full Fibre network. This will connect more than 100,000 additional homes and businesses, including extending its reach into the most rural parts of Northern Ireland.
Already providing over 87% of properties across Northern Ireland with the ability to upgrade to Ultrafast Full Fibre, this multi-year investment programme will significantly extend the Openreach Full Fibre footprint in Northern Ireland to 97% and expand the ability for people to access fast and reliable broadband right across the region.
The extension of the Full Fibre network to more than 100,000 additional homes and businesses not only means access to better broadband connectivity but also continued access to a wide range of providers. Over 650 communications providers use the Openreach network here in Northern Ireland, including Sky, TalkTalk, BT and Vodafone, offering thousands of different broadband packages, meaning people can shop around for a provider and price that best suits their needs.
Core to this investment is Openreach’s commitment to ensuring Northern Ireland has a future-proof broadband network capable of meeting the ever-increasing demands now, and for decades to come. Its rollout of Full Fibre broadband means communities across the region are benefiting from connections that are up to twelve times faster than average broadband, with families and businesses able to enjoy better video calling, higher resolution movie streaming and gaming, and the ability to connect more devices at once without experiencing any slowdown, buffering or dropouts.
The expansion programme includes a focus on providing access to hard-to-reach rural areas that traditionally have more limited access to a fast and reliable broadband connection.
Commenting on the announcement, Suzanne Wylie, Chief Executive, Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NI Chamber) added:
“Investing in digital connectivity is vital for the region’s economic growth, helping businesses across Northern Ireland to compete globally.
“In highly digitised markets, access to a fast, reliable broadband service facilitates local, regional and international trade by enabling businesses to service new customers and markets from their Northern Ireland bases.
“This latest investment by Openreach is very welcome news, particularly for companies with high growth aspirations, including those based in more rural locations. It is also really good news for communities across Northern Ireland, providing access to better broadband to even more homes and future proofing our connectivity needs for years to come.”
Speaking about the expansion plans, Garret Kavanagh, Director at Openreach said: “We are proud of the key role Openreach are playing in facilitating better connectivity and better choice when it comes to broadband for homes and businesses across Northern Ireland.
“Already well established as a core utility within communities, Ultrafast Full Fibre is enjoyed by more than 50% of people on our network here and the infrastructure is in place for many more end customers to speak to their service providers about upgrading their broadband connection.
“Our Openreach team take great pride in providing the network that keeps our communities connected, and we are delighted that this additional investment will help us to deliver on our commitment to improve access for hard-to-reach areas and to enable high quality connectivity for all.”
To find out if you can upgrade to Ultrafast Full Fibre, visit www.openreach.co.uk
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