FFNI Ultrafast Broadband

Procurement of fibre infrastructure currently under way to identify preferred bidders by June.

14:19 19 May 2020

Councils in Northern Ireland have been working together to create and build the Full Fibre Northern Ireland Consortium (FFNI) with the goal to expand high-speed fibre broadband footprint across the region. The consortium is made up of all ten councils in Northern Ireland and hosted by Newry, Mourne and Down District Council. 

 

FFNI, which has successfully secured £15million of Local Full Fibre Network funding in March, now moves to the next phase and is set to identify the preferred bidders by mid-June this year. 

 

The Mayor of Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council Councillor Sean Bateson said: "Our residents and local businesses depend on us to deliver high-quality public services and having connectivity is essential to that. The public sector has to keep pace with what technology can offer local communities and not be left behind by other regions who recognise the value of full-fiber broadband. 

 

"This funding is essential for developing important telecoms infrastructure and full-fiber is expected to provide improved digital connectivity and unlock considerable economic value across the district." 

 

The UK Government's Minister for Digital Infrastructure, Matt Warman, said: "We are taking the next step in our plans to futureproof Northern Ireland's broadband for a generation. 

 

"This £15 million investment from the UK government will boost public services and buildings with gigabit broadband and encourage suppliers to improve connections to nearby homes and businesses in the process. 

 

"Across the UK we are also investing £5 billion to make sure hard-to-reach areas are not left behind."