The Northern Irish Department for the Economy (DfE) has today announced that they’ve awarded the £34.6m (public subsidy) Project Gigabit broadband roll-out contract to alternative network ISP Fibrus, which will be tasked with extending their Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network to reach 9,000 of the hardest to reach rural homes and businesses.

At present Northern Ireland is already home to the strongest levels of gigabit broadband coverage anywhere in the United Kingdom, with 96% of premises having access to such a network (falling to 95% for full fibre) – mostly via Openreach, Virgin Media (inc. nexfibre) and Fibrus. Suffice to say that there’s only a small gap left to fill, but the gap that remains is often in some of the remotest and most challenging locations.

NOTE: Project Gigabit aims to help extend gigabit broadband (1000Mbps+) ISP networks to “nationwide” coverage (c.99% of UK premises) by 2032, focusing mostly on the final 10-20% in hard-to-reach areas. Some 88% of premises can already access such a network (here) and Ofcom are forecasting a range of 91-97% (homes) by January 2028 (here).

Last year we reported that the Building Digital UK (BDUK) agency and N.I’s Department for the Economy (DfE) had begun the supplier procurement phase of their future Project Gigabit broadband roll-out for Northern Ireland, which aimed to fix this gap. The proposal valued the 10-year contract at between £34.647m (Initial Scope) and up to a maximum of £81m (here).

The good news today is that Fibrus have been awarded the new contract, which comes shortly after they completed the £200m Project Stratum contract to reach an additional 81,000 premises in N.Ireland “on time and within budget” (here). Clearly, that record of delivery on public procurements, at least in N.I, has served them well and made them a viable option for the new contract.

The new £34.6m contract, funded by the UK government, “begins immediately” and will bring gigabit-capable broadband to over 9,000 rural premises across Northern Ireland.

Economy Minister Archibald said:

“High quality internet access is vital for our economy and wider society. It is transformative for many households and businesses, enabling access to digital services, remote learning and work, and economic participation.

At 94% gigabit capable coverage, the north is now the best connected part of these islands. Building on this, Project Gigabit will extend this level of digital capacity to over 9,000 premises, further improving broadband infrastructure in predominantly rural areas.

Digital connectivity is a vital enabler in building an inclusive, regional balanced economy. This investment further positions the north as a leader in the availability of fixed line fibre optic services, underpinning our digital transformation, competitiveness, and innovation.”

Telecoms Minister, Liz Lloyd, said:

“Access to gigabit-capable broadband is so important to modern life, whether that’s running a business, accessing digital public services, or staying connected with loved ones.

That’s why we’re making crucial investments into digital infrastructure across Northern Ireland, to unlock economic opportunities, support Northern Irish communities, and ensure everyone can fully participate in the digital economy from wherever they live.”

Dominic Kearns, CEO and Co Founder of Fibrus, said:

“Delivering for rural communities is at the heart of what we do at Fibrus and this contract allows us to continue to provide more homes and businesses with the opportunities proper connectivity brings.

We have a short history in Fibrus, but one that shows we can deliver on time and within budget like with Project Stratum. We are delighted to have been awarded another contract by the Government who have entrusted us once again with its delivery.”

More details of the deployment plans for this contract are already available at https://www.online.economy-ni.gov.uk/ProjectGigabit/. This includes a premises checker to enable homeowners and businesses to check if their premises will benefit from the future roll-out, although it would have been nice to have a visual map and some example locations to go alongside the announcement. In addition, it’s unclear how long the deployment phase will take to reach completion.

One other thing to note here is that BDUK has previously forecast that up to around 60,000 premises may still need help to access a gigabit network in Northern Ireland, although we expect that the figure today may be closer to 40k-50k due to wider commercial expansion (here). But this means that the new contract, which only tackles 9,000 premises, will still leave a pretty notable gap left to fill.

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