There's good news today for rurally based companies with a renewed communications commitment from the Stormont Executive.

The engineering, construction and related industries that have facilities based outside the main towns and cities will soon be able to look forward to better communications after the NI Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster this week reinforced her promise on improving broadband services across rural areas.

The Minister announced that a fourth call for broadband project applications will open on 19 October, under the competitive £1.9m Northern Ireland Broadband Fund.

The Fund, which is co-financed under the European Regional Development Fund Sustainable Competitiveness Programme 2007-2013, aims to increase the options for delivery of broadband services in rural areas.

It offers practical, financial support of up to 50% of overall project costs to organisations undertaking broadband technology trials here.

The Fund supports trials demonstrating technologies that can be used to deliver higher speed, next generation broadband services; and projects which offer solutions for provision of commercial services in priority rural areas in Northern Ireland.

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Arlene Foster said: "Exploitation of Northern Ireland's world-class telecommunications infrastructure is a key priority for my department, with the contribution of broadband to economic growth now recognised globally.

"In August 2008 I launched the Broadband Fund as a means to identify options for achieving widespread deployment of next generation broadband services, under the Programme for government," she said.

"We are already supporting four successful applications under previous Broadband Fund calls.

"Three of these projects are delivering extensive fixed wireless networks in some of the most rural parts of Northern Ireland including large parts of the rural west, along the Fermanagh/South Tyrone corridor and into the North Sperrins/Foyle Basin area. "Commercial services will be available in November, across the rural west as the first of these networks nears completion.

"This fourth project is a technology trial in Ballintoy and Ballinamallard looking at ways to increase 2G and 3G services using existing satellite infrastructure," she continued.

"It is vital that we maintain this momentum and we have once more identified locations where we are particularly keen to target trials and deployment of infrastructure, based on feedback from stakeholders.

"Our key objective is to encourage the emergence of affordable, high speed broadband services in such areas, providing conditions for the growth of local enterprises.

"With funding of up to 50% of project costs available to successful applicants, the Fund is a key mechanism for ensuring that Northern Ireland businesses continue to exploit their knowledge of broadband technologies," she concluded.

(BMcC/KMcA)