Northern Ireland Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster has welcomed BT's announcement of a new investment in Northern Ireland’s telecoms infrastructure.

The Minister said: "This is a further significant and very welcome investment in our telecommunications infrastructure. BT's investment comes on top of the £48 million Next Generation Broadband Project, which I announced in December."

BT’s investment will bring speeds of up to 40 mb/s, rising to 60 mb/s to nearly 30,000 households and businesses in the Bangor exchange area, by the end of the summer. It will also bring the total number of exchanges, delivering high broadband speeds, across Northern Ireland, to 167.

The £48 million Next Generation Broadband Project involves the introduction of new technology to increase broadband speeds of a minimum of 10Mb/s to businesses in urban areas and 2Mb/s to businesses in rural areas, in Northern Ireland, over the next 18 months.

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Ms Foster added: "High quality telecoms infrastructure is an important tool for Northern Ireland businesses. If fully utilised by companies, it can make transactions easier, facilitate innovation and raise productivity.

"My Department has had the vision to strive for the highest quality telecoms, which can be afforded. It has worked hard, and in close partnership with the telecoms industry in recent years, to bring that vision to a reality and we are now seeing significant delivery on the ground."

The Minister continued: "The Northern Ireland Executive recognises the importance of telecommunications as part of its priority of 'Growing A Dynamic, Innovative Economy'. The Next Generation Broadband Project will deliver on the Programme for Government target, to ensure that 85% of all businesses in Northern Ireland will be able to access a next generation network by March 2011.

"Modern telecommunications move fast and Northern Ireland must keep pace. When the Next Generation Broadband Project has been completed, few, if any, parts of the British Isles will have anywhere near the amount of fibre that will be deployed in Northern Ireland by 2011."

(NS/BMcC)