Fibrus: Company gets £23m to improve NI's digital infrastructure

Hundreds of public sector buildings could get access to hyper-fast broadband as a result of the project

Telecoms provider Fibrus has been awarded a £23m government contract to improve digital infrastructure across Northern Ireland.

The project could result in hundreds of public-sector buildings having access to hyper-fast broadband.

Fibrus is currently rolling out broadband in rural areas as part of the £165m Project Stratum.

This new government funding is part of the Full Fibre Northern Ireland Consortium (FFNI).

It is made up of all 10 councils outside Belfast and the Business Services Organisation and aims to expand access to high-speed fibre broadband.

A further £1m will be used by FFNI to procure relevant network equipment and services to bring the network into operation.

Northern Ireland was found to have the lowest broadband speeds in the UK

Public sector buildings such as council premises, community centres and GP surgeries are set to have full fibre "gigabit capable" broadband installed.

These public sector hubs could accelerate the faster roll-out of more reliable broadband to nearby residential and commercial properties through separate commercial investment plans, the government has said.

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Improved connectivity became vitally important during the Covid-19 pandemic as many people worked and studied remotely.

'Critical infrastructure'

Fibrus chief executive, Dominic Kearns, said the contract allows the company to further improve Northern Ireland's digital infrastructure.

"Delivering this critical infrastructure to all these council and public sector buildings allows us to extend the network further into the surrounding homes and businesses that are in much need of our services," he said.

"At Fibrus we are committed to playing our part in delivering the policy objective of achieving ubiquitous full fibre coverage as set out by the government and this project will help bring that one step closer."