BT is planning on a multi-million pound investment into Northern Ireland in an attempt to revamp its broadband infrastructure.
Along with improved connections for both businesses and consumers, the company has also said the move could create around 60 jobs.
The money from BT will join cash from two Government departments the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) to help push out connections into rural areas.
More than 780 cabinets are set to be upgraded, meaning Northern Ireland will have in excess of 2,400 fibre-enabled cabinets, and the company estimated 88 per cent of telephone lines would be linked to fibre access.
Enterprise minister of the North Ireland Executive, Arlene Foster, welcomed the investment and claimed it helped to position the country as a "broadband leader" in Europe.
"Substantial investment in bringing lightning-fast broadband to businesses, schools, colleges and individuals delivers significant economic and social benefits for the whole of Northern Ireland," she said.
"I want to urge businesses to take full advantage of an improved telecoms infrastructure to help them compete in a fast-moving global market-place."
Back in 2008, BT vowed to invest 1.5 billion to roll out fibre broadband to 10 million homes across the UK by 2012.
Last May, the company pledged a further 1 billion in an effort to provide fibre to two thirds of UK homes by 2015.
-
Cleo attack victim list grows as Hertz confirms customer data stolenNews Hertz has confirmed it suffered a data breach as a result of the Cleo zero-day vulnerability in late 2024, with the car rental giant warning that customer data was stolen.
-
Lateral moves in tech: Why leaders should support employee mobilityIn-depth Encouraging staff to switch roles can have long-term benefits for skills in the tech sector
-
Optimise CX and accelerate business growth through your voice networkwhitepaper Protecting the human experience in a digital world
-
IDC InfoBrief: Sustainability doesn’t need to be all stick and no carrotwhitepaper CIOs are facing two conflicting strategic imperatives
-
‘The pace of change is taking its toll’: Business leaders are becoming burned out by rapid technological changesNews Tech leaders are contending with mounting stress levels amidst a sharpened focus on adopting new technologies and ramping up transformation efforts
-
Unlocking the power of your digital servicesSponsored Businesses have invested significant cash into technology since COVID-19, but are they really getting their money's worth?
-
The forgotten workforce needs a new communications strategySponsored Reliable communications technologies are key to building an efficient remote workforce
-
The future of work and the forgotten workforcewhitepaper How to deploy a mobile-first strategy so no one gets left behind
-
Building an outstanding digital experiencewhitepaper Insight into how banks and financial services organizations can deliver the digital experiences customers and employees expect
-
Inbound BT CEO Allison Kirkby faces challenge of leading telco through cuts in 2024News Kirkby brings years of experience heading some of the biggest telcos in the EU
