Belfast-based Fibrus has confirmed that over 74,000 premises across Northern Ireland now have access to full-fibre broadband through Project Stratum. The company is on track to connect 81,000 premises by June 2025, within budget and on time. The local broadband provider was awarded the government contract in November 2020 to improve connectivity for premises unable to access broadband services of 30 Mbps, especially in the most rural areas of Northern Ireland, the company said.
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Project Stratum Progress
Fibrus said it connected its first customer in Coalisland in March 2021, six months after the contract award, and recently completed the Randalstown area earlier this year. Counties Down and Tyrone currently have the highest number of connected premises, with almost 28,000 and 24,000 respectively, with a focus on the last remaining area to connect, Templepatrick.
Fibrus commented, "Rural communities are at the heart of our business, and we've made a significant contribution to all areas we’ve brought our full-fibre infrastructure to, through job creation, community donations, sponsorships, and volunteer time. We were awarded this contract just two years after launching Fibrus."
"Now, three and a half years into the project, we're extremely proud of the speed and quality of our delivery of Project Stratum. With a year to go, we’re well on track to complete our target of connecting more than 81,000 premises and leveling up access to full-fibre broadband the length and breadth of Northern Ireland," Fibrus added.
The combined public subsidy and Fibrus' investment amount to GBP 248 million, making Project Stratum the largest publicly funded telecommunications infrastructure project in Northern Ireland, the company said.
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Collaborative Solutions with Acome Group
Just recently, network services provider Acome announced that it has helped Fibrus speed up its fibre installations to reach thousands of rural homes and businesses in Northern England and Northern Ireland.
Using Acome Group's cabling solutions to speed up installations, Fibrus has reached 354,000 premises passed across rural and regional areas of Cumbria and Northern Ireland by March 2024. The connected properties can access broadband speeds of up to 2 Gbps, Acome said.
To speed up its fibre rollout, Fibrus sought a cable with more fibre than the standard 48-fibre cables available on the market. Acome Group said it worked with Fibrus to co-develop a 60-fibre cable, with a 12-fibre modularity, a structure that mirrors the architecture of the existing fibre infrastructure across the UK.
Reportedly, to further accelerate the speed of deployment, Fibrus street cabinets were fitted with an optical distribution solution that was pre-cabled at Acome's manufacturing plant in Brittany.
