BT in £6m Offer of Free FTTP Broadband for Businesses in N.Ireland
A partnership between BTWholesale and broadband ISP Barclay Communications has resulted in the launch of a new £6 million scheme, which will see the internet and telecoms provider offering a “Free Ultra-Fast Fibre” (FTTP) connection to businesses in Northern Ireland.
The collaboration hopes to connect 50,000 of those businesses by the end of 2024 and around 91% of firms in N.Ireland are said to be within reach of the new FTTP network. Participants in the initiative will receive “complimentary installation, FTTP delivery, a new line/ONT box, and a service upgrade, all without any additional charges to their existing monthly fees.”
Curiously, the offer seems to describe more or less what you’d expect to get from any FTTP provider on Openreach’s network with a “free installation” style promotion, which is a fairly common deal in this market. But Barclay Communications’ own research claims that only 20% of businesses in N.Ireland are aware of and utilising FTTP, thus we suspect part of the £6m budget will go on marketing to the rest.
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Britt Megahey, Founder of Barclay Communications, said:
“Our Free Fast Fibre initiative in partnership with BT Wholesale represents a significant step towards transforming the digital landscape of Northern Ireland. We aim to empower businesses with the fastest available internet speeds, bridging the digital divide and driving economic growth in the region. With our dedicated teams and BT Wholesale’s expertise, we are confident that this initiative will be a game-changer for Northern Irish businesses.”
Katrina O’Mahony, Senior Sales Manager at BTWholesale, said:
“We are pleased to be working with Barclay Communications to deliver this initiative to support Northern Ireland businesses with free, ultrafast connectivity. As part of our investment in the project we have provided the initial upgrade to FTTP and the collaboration means we can make a huge difference for Northern Ireland businesses of all sizes.”
The ISP is currently known to already be servicing around 11,000 companies with a mix of different communications products.
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads.net and Linkedin.
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Perfect for these businesses to get a free subpar connection until Netomnia rollsout to them
define Subpar Sam
This is really a misleading stunt from them as projected £6m is based on an installation charge for FTTP and covers the installation and set up of the new connection. The way its being portrayed on social media is that its free FTTP broadband for NI businesses which it clearly is not when you read the story on it.
Every provider provides free installation to get the business so its all smoke and mirrors and a publicity stunt.