{"id":26241,"date":"2021-03-09T17:33:05","date_gmt":"2021-03-09T17:33:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/?p=26241"},"modified":"2021-03-10T12:44:42","modified_gmt":"2021-03-10T12:44:42","slug":"first-broadband-customers-live-on-n-irelands-project-stratum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2021\/03\/first-broadband-customers-live-on-n-irelands-project-stratum.html","title":{"rendered":"First Broadband Customers Live on N.Ireland’s Project Stratum"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Northern Ireland Executive<\/a> (DfE) has today announced that the first customers have now gone live on the new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP<\/a>) broadband ISP network, which is being built with state aid support from the \u00a3165m Project Stratum programme.<\/p>\n

Last year saw newcomer Fibrus<\/a> being chosen to deliver Project Stratum <\/strong>(here<\/a>), which will see a total of \u00a3350m<\/strong> (public and private funding) being invested to extend “full fibre<\/em>” broadband to more than 76,000 extra premises across some of the hardest to reach areas in Northern Ireland<\/strong> (e.g. rural) by the end of 2025.<\/p>\n

Now, just three months into the awarding of the Project Stratum contract, the first OLT (Optical Line Termination) in Coalisland<\/strong>, County Tyrone is finally live with the first customers connected.<\/p>\n

Economy Minister, Diane Dodds, said:<\/strong><\/p>\n

“In today\u2019s world we are especially reliant on our broadband services and good connectivity. More and more of our work and leisure time is spent online and if you don\u2019t have access to good broadband this can be a real issue. Speaking to Tara Hamill has underscored the difference Project Stratum can make to peoples lives and how it is bringing tangible benefits to householders.<\/p>\n

I know there are many communities, especially in rural areas, which have been waiting a long time for improvements in their broadband speeds. These first connections demonstrate Fibrus<\/a> Networks have the capability and capacity to deliver full fibre solutions, with speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second, to many rural premises transforming the broadband connectivity landscape for individuals and businesses across Northern Ireland.\u201d<\/p>\n

I want to congratulate Fibrus<\/a> Networks on reaching the first significant milestone and I look forward to hearing about their continued deployment in bringing the benefits of Next Generation Access broadband to many more neighbourhoods across Northern Ireland.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We should remind readers that an address level Postcode Checker<\/strong><\/a> is also available, which enables people to check eligibility and availability for when the new gigabit-capable network will reach them.<\/p>\n