Northern Ireland's full fibre operator, Fibrus has secured funding worth £220m from a consortium of banks including the UK Infrastructure Bank, to fund fibre roll-out in Northern Ireland.
Fibrus has committed to delivering world-class broadband services to rural and regional areas and its network has already reached over 120,000 homes and businesses. The company is investing £0.5 billion to reach 330,000 previously underserved homes.
This latest investment is funded by public and private capital including Project Stratum, the NI Executive scheme which has provided £197m to boost rural broadband connections. Colin Hutchinson, chief financial officer with Fibrus welcomed the announcement. He said: ‘We are very well aware of the importance of high-speed broadband across Northern Ireland and with every connection we make, we are making lives better. Too many homes and businesses have been left behind by other broadband providers and that is not acceptable. This latest investment helps us to meet our current plan of connecting 330,000 premises and we are already well ahead of schedule.’
Northern Ireland’s business community has also welcomed the regional roll out of full fibre broadband. Angela McGowan, director of CBI Northern Ireland, said: ‘Up to now too many companies and entrepreneurs in more remote areas of Northern Ireland have been left behind as the economy moved online. By ensuring that every premises has access to reliable, quality broadband in a short timeframe, we are giving Northern Ireland a competitive advantage which will be the envy of other regions. This investment by the UK Infrastructure Bank is a great vote of confidence in Fibrus and in the NI economy.’
John Flint, CEO of investor partner, the UK Infrastructure Bank, added: ‘I am very pleased that we can play a part in supporting homes and businesses across Northern Ireland to access fast and reliable broadband.’
