Fibrus Confirm Completion of £200m Northern Ireland Fibre Broadband Contract

Infracapital-backed UK ISP Fibrus today confirmed the completion of their £200m (state aid) Project Stratum contract in Northern Ireland, which helped to spread their gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network to 81,000 addition premises in poorly served rural areas “on time and within budget.”

At present around 97% of premises across Northern Ireland can already access a full fibre broadband network (here), which makes it by far the best-connected region within the United Kingdom and that would not have been possible without the combined efforts of Virgin Media, Openreach and Fibrus (plus some smaller deployments by Netomnia).

A few years ago Fibrus also secured the state aid backed Project Stratum contract, which after a coverage extension previously aimed to reach 85,000 additional premises with FTTP connectivity. But such contracts often adapt as they progress due to unexpected changes, such as any obstacles to build or a higher level of commercial coverage than originally forecast, which is why it ended up on 81,000.

The contract is said to have represented the “largest telecoms infrastructure project ever seen in Northern Ireland“, which Fibrus delivered “on time and within budget, changing the lives of those in rural communities and offering them the same opportunities as their urban counterparts“. The venture was also backed by the Department for the Economy, Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs and the UK Government.

Dr. Caoimhe Archibald, N.I Economy Minister, said: 

“High quality internet access is vital for our economy and wider society. Supported by over £200m investment from both the public and private sector, Project Statum has made gigabit services available to 81,000 premises across the north, particularly in rural areas. It has improved our broadband coverage across the north, supporting our businesses, our people and our communities, enabling our daily activities from how we shop, study and work, to how we access services.”

Dominic Kearns, Fibrus CEO, said:

“We’re extremely proud of the impact that Fibrus and Project Stratum has had on the homes and businesses that have received connections to our full fibre network to over the last 4 years of our roll out. Our team have travelled every road and lane to ensure this project got to the families and businesses that needed it most, on time and within budget.

Helping rural communities to thrive is at the heart of everything we do at Fibrus, and we are delighted to have been able to aid the Compass Advocacy Network’s digital transformation at Lislagan Farm. We wish the team and the charity all the best for the future and look forward to seeing them continue to expand their services.”

The UK Government’s £5bn Project Gigabit programme will now take on most of the responsibility for filling in any gaps in gigabit-capable broadband coverage that remain, which previously forecast that up to around 60,000 premises may still need help to access a gigabit network (here). A related tender for this, worth up to £81m, was submitted last year, but there has been little in the way of progress updates since then (here). A contract was due to be awarded this summer.

Customers of the service typically pay from £24.99 per month for an unlimited 159Mbps (34Mbps upload) package with an included router and free installation, which rises to just £34.99 per month for their top 982Mbps (310Mbps upload) tier on a 24-month contract term. Service discounts may vary between different parts of their build.