Coalisland gets connected to hyperfast broadband service

The new broadband infrastructure has been rolled out by Fibrus Networks Ltd, Northern Ireland’s fastest growing telecoms provider, specialists in providing full fibre broadband to rural and regional areas across the country.

Fibrus began work in Coalisland early this year to transform broadband infrastructure, having already completed extensive works across South Down and other towns in Mid Ulster, including Magherafelt and Maghera.

Over 5,000 homes and businesses in Coalisland can now access the hyperfast full fibre broadband service, including vast rural parts of the area which key to the work of Fibrus.

Speaking from Coalisland, Fibrus Programme and Commercial Director Shane Haslem said: “It’s because of towns like Coalisland that Fibrus was established. For too long, rural and regional areas have gone without decent connectivity opportunities, despite being a hub for local businesses and start-ups.

“The recent ‘Stay at Home’ message meant an increase in demand for online usage, with home schooling, working from home and more at-home entertainment, proving that access to broadband has become like any other utility. To modern homes and businesses, it is as essential as your electricity and heating.

“The arrival of full fibre broadband in Coalisland will revolutionise the way families and businesses go about their day-to-day lives. We’re really excited to see more and more rural communities getting connected to our new transformative network.”

SDLP MLA for Mid Ulster, Patsy McGlone added: “Connectivity is the cornerstone of modern society and it is essential that rural communities have equal access to the high-speed broadband available in urban areas.

“The provision of full fibre broadband in Coalisland is a step towards that equality of access and will benefit local businesses and community alike. My thanks to Fibrus for this development and I look forward to continuing to work with them to ensure the further roll-out of full fibre broadband across Mid Ulster.”

DUP representative, Keith Buchanan MLA added: “Coming from and representing a rural community I recognise the need of improved Broadband provision and this announcement is welcome news for Mid Ulster. It is important that the role out of Next Generation Access (NGA) continues throughout all rural areas as it will improve connectivity to existing rural businesses and to encourage new investment within Mid Ulster.

“The need and importance for improved broadband connectivity has never been highlighted more than during the pandemic, when restrictions have meant children and young people needed access to online learning and many businesses and workers had to change their working pattern and work from home.”

Shane Haslem added: “Fibrus will continue to address the imbalance in rural connectivity across Northern Ireland and we look forward to seeing more communities enjoying the benefits of our full fibre network.”

--

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

Please consider purchasing a copy of the paper. You can also support trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription of the News Letter.