One of the largest broadband initiatives delivered across Northern Ireland has officially been completed.

An event was held at at the Canal Court Hotel in Newry to mark the completion of the Local Full Fibre Network (LFFN) and Rural Gigabit Connectivity (RGC) projects.

The initiative was delivered by the Full Fibre Northern Ireland (FFNI) Consortium, which is made up of 10 councils outside Belfast and the Business Services Organisation (BSO), and led by Newry, Mourne and Down District Council. The Consortium, having successfully secured £23.1 million of UK Government funding from DCMS in 2018, rolled out this ambitious project with the aim of expanding the high-speed fibre broadband footprint in Northern Ireland.

Now completed, the project has connected 887 public sector buildings to high-speed 'gigabit capable' broadband throughout Northern Ireland. This includes over 240 GP surgeries, 148 community centres, 90 council offices, 79 recycling centres, 69 fire stations and 63 leisure centres. These sites now have the infrastructure to access internet speeds at least ten times faster than their old, mostly copper-based connections. As requirements increase in the future, they will be able to tap into gigabit capable speeds of 1,000 megabits per second and above.

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Speaking at the event, Newry, Mourne and Down District Council Chairperson, Councillor Michael Savage said: "FFNI is essentially an Economic Development and Regeneration project and this multi-million-pound investment will assist those at risk of digital exclusion, create local jobs and allow public sector partners to offer more digital services to businesses and residents across the district.

"The collaboration between public-sector bodies through FFNI has played a key role in supporting digital ambitions, which will empower our local communities and businesses to bounce back from the pandemic and the positive impact will be even more far reaching for years to come."

UK Digital Infrastructure Minister Julia Lopez added: "Thanks to the UK Government's investment, Northern Ireland continues to lead gigabit broadband connectivity levels across the four nations. More than four in five homes in the country now have access to the fastest and most reliable broadband on the market.

"These lightning-fast connections will help improve public services and benefit businesses and communities from Larne to Lisnaskea. Through our record £5 billion Project Gigabit investment programme, we are also making sure people living and working in rural areas can access the top-of-the-range connection speeds."

Project build partner and local full fibre broadband provider Fibrus supported the rollout of LFFN and RGC on behalf of FFNI.