High speed broadband service for new tenants

180 Housing Association tenants in Belfast will have access to high speed broadband services following a trial for new houses on Ormeau Road.

Economy Minister Nigel Dodds today visited the new housing development, on the site of the former North Cricket and Rugby Club, where the homes were part of Department of Enterprise Trade and Investment’s (DETI) High Speed Broadband Trial.

DETI, working with the developer, Clanmil Housing, Virgin Media and Bytel Networks is providing infrastructure capable of delivering 20 megabits per second, or greater, broadband services.

Commenting on the trial the Minister said: “The information and knowledge gained from this trial will help shape our future strategy for broadband services in Northern Ireland. Working with the Department for Social Development and Clanmil Housing on this trial, we now know that high speed broadband can be delivered through fibre optics at a reasonable cost into new housing developments.”

The trial specifically looked at the cost, technical and practical issues involved in installing infrastructure capable of delivering high speed, ie. next generation broadband. Two separate infrastructure designs were deployed – fibre to the cabinet and fibre to the home – allowing direct comparison between the two.

Minister Dodds went on to say: “Without the active co-operation of all parties, developer, design team, builders and the two telecoms companies, this trial would not have been possible. This has been a very useful learning exercise for all involved and my Department will be sharing the information gained with our counterparts throughout the UK, including the Scottish Government and Welsh Assembly, government telecommunications teams as well as the communications regulator OFCOM.”

Alan McLeod, new build development officer at Virgin Media said: “As part of our new build programme, Virgin Media is delighted to be working alongside DETI to provide high speed broadband services to the Ormeau Road development. We’re proud to be contributing to this project to help shape the broadband strategy for Northern Ireland.”

Owen Maguire, Network Development Manager for Bytel, a local company, said: “It has been Bytel’s pleasure to assist DETI in the trial, which clearly demonstrates that Northern Ireland’s telecommunications infrastructure is among the best in Europe, and the fantastic potential available to homes and residential developments throughout the Province.”

During the visit the Minister met the tenants and the telecommunication companies to hear about the benefits of high speed broadband, provided by the trial.

Notes to Editors:

1. The trial covers two distinctly different telecommunications technologies – fibre to the street cabinet (sometimes referred to as fibre to the kerb) and fibre to the home.
2. Virgin Media installed optical fibre around the development to a series of street cabinets capable of supplying telecommunication services including 20 Megabits per second broadband to all the homes within the development. The connection from the cabinet to the home is by copper cable.
3. The Bytel Networks trial is limited to 10 houses and involves optical fibre cable right into the house. The optical cable terminates under the stairs where a small unit has been installed to convert the optical signal to digital. The connection from under the stairs to, for example, the living room, is by conventional copper communications cable. The system was designed, for the purpose of this trial, to deliver 20 megabits per second.
4. Other telecommunications services are also available within the development but are outside the trial. The trial does not include the delivery of telecommunications services to the tenants which is between the tenants and their chosen telecoms provider.
5. Housing Associations form a valuable part of the social economy.
6. For further information, please contact DETI Press Office on 028 9052 9297.
7. Outside office hours, please contact the Duty Press Officer via pager Number 07699 715 440 and your call will be returned.