NI Grabs £17m Superfast Broadband Investment

Further government funding has been made available to move forward with the rollout of superfast broadband in Northern Ireland, following similar progress in Wales and Scotland in recent times.

Northern Ireland’s Enterprise, Trade and Investment Minister, Arlene Foster, announced the details of the fresh funding, which totals £17 million. This will be injected into furthering BT’s rollout, with BT providing £3 million of this investment, and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment £7 million, with the Department of Culture Media and Sport (via BDUK) stumping up a further £7 million.

This will ensure 38,000 premises across Northern Ireland are hooked up with superfast connections.

UK Digital Economy Minister Ed Vaizey commented: “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, said: “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.”