Openreach Connect 200,000th Customer to FTTP in Northern Ireland

Openreach (BT) has today announced that they’ve doubled the number of customers they’ve connected, via various different UK ISPs, to their new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network in Northern Ireland from 100,000 to 200,000 in the space of a year.

The operator’s new full fibre network currently covers around 80% of homes and businesses across Northern Ireland (up from 65% in April 2021), which we think would equate to somewhere north of 700,000 premises (up from 530,000 in April 2021). But exact coverage figures have not been published alongside today’s announcement.

All of this forms part of the BT Group’s wider £15bn investment to help Openreach’s FTTP network reach 25 million UK premises by December 2026 – some 6.2 million of which will be in rural or semi-rural areas. The build rate for this is expected to hit a peak of around 75,000 premises per week across the UK (currently c.62,000 per week) and they’ve already completed the build to around 9 million premises.

Garret Kavanagh, Director of Openreach in Northern Ireland, said:

“I am immensely proud of the engineering workforce who have carried out Openreach’s build programme across the length and breadth of the country. We have hit this significant milestone thanks to their hard work, professionalism, and dedication to connecting the people of Northern Ireland to Full Fibre broadband.

The past few years have been challenging for us all but Full Fibre broadband has been life-enhancing to so many people and businesses during this time, and we love to hear the stories about the positive difference this technology has made and continues to make to those living in Northern Ireland.”

The announcement could be seen as sending a strong signal to rivals in Northern Ireland, particularly established players like Virgin Media (VMO2) and newer entrants like Fibrus, both of which have ever expanding and gigabit-capable broadband networks of their own (overbuild is rising).

Virgin’s network currently reaches around 45% of premises in NI (equivalent to somewhere around 380,000 premises – here), while Fibrus is targeting a total build of 350,000 premises (public and commercial) across NI and most of the 190,000 they’ve already completed are in NI (here). But we don’t have any solid customer figures for either of those, although Fibrus is a bit too new for a fair comparison to be made on take-up.

UPDATE 10:11am

Thinkbroadband puts Openreach’s FTTP footprint in N.Ireland today at an estimated 764,527 premises passed.