Posted: 24th Feb, 2005 By: MarkJ
Northern Ireland today became the first UK region, outside of London, to have every one of its exchanges enabled for broadband (xDSL). We're informed that this equates to 98.5% coverage:
Bill Murphy Managing Director of BT Regions said: "This is a truly fantastic occasion for everyone in Northern Ireland; we have led Europe in the charge of the roll out of broadband and contributed to the UK achieving its status of having the most extensive market in the G7. The citizens of Northern Ireland and BT people should be proud of what it has achieved and enjoy the benefits of what all 191 enabled ADSL exchanges will bring.
Businesses and consumers can now benefit from the widespread availability and we must encourage people to take advantage of this information superhighway, experience the groundbreaking technology and recognise the difference that it will make to their lives. Northern Ireland has the fastest growth rate for uptake of broadband across all the UK regions.
Our partnership with the DETI has resulted in a smooth determined rollout with each milestone being consistently achieved. It has put us at the forefront of Europe: ultimately this is great news for Northern Ireland plc."
The North East of England is following hot on the heels of Northern Ireland with work at the final 12 exchanges to be completed on February 28. All 182 BT exchanges in North East England will then offer ADSL broadband services.
The £10 million broadband partnership between BT and One Northeast, the regional development agency for North East England, will reach completion just 12 months after it was announced, and within a matter of days of the completion of the programme in Northern Ireland. More than 100 small, rural exchanges across the North East - serving on average less than 1400 households and businesses each - will have benefited from the programme.