£1.1million contract will deliver remote broadband services

A £1.1million contract will deliver broadband services to those customers across Northern Ireland who cannot access broadband via telephone lines.

Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster awarded the contract, which will ensure the continued delivery of broadband services to all of Northern Ireland, to Avanti Communication Group Plc, following a competitive tendering process.

Announcing the award of the contract the Minister said: “It is essential to ensure that everyone in Northern Ireland can continue to have access to broadband services, no matter what their location.

“The importance of broadband is increasing in economic, social and educational terms, providing the consumer with access to a wide variety of on-line services, activities and businesses with the ability to improve business efficiency, productivity and globalisation of their products and services.”

Arlene Foster continued: “As an economy with a high reliance on small businesses, many of them home- based and rurally located, it is imperative that broadband services are made as widely available as possible across the region. I look to Avanti to build upon their proven track record in delivering broadband services to remote locations.”

Avanti Communications Group plc is a London-based supplier of satellite communications services with experience in the delivery of broadband services for business, institutional and residential customers.

Avanti has successfully delivered a number of rural broadband projects including the Rural Broadband Aggregation Project for the West Midlands Regional Development Agency. It is currently rolling out the Broadband Outreach Programme is Scotland.

Notes to Editors:

1. The contract has been awarded for a period of three years from date of contract signing and will therefore be expected to end on 7 December 2011.
2. Under the contract, the primary focus for Avanti Communications will be to migrate those consumers that have registered with DETI as ‘Priority Customers’ i.e. those currently accessing broadband services via a BT provided satellite product. To commence this process, Avanti Communications will be writing to the registered ‘Priority Customers’ to provide details of the services on offer and asking them to place and order for the service of their choice.
3. Avanti Communications Plc will waive the one-off set up and installation fee for ‘Priority Customers’. However, the customer will still be liable for the monthly service charges.
4. Avanti Communications will be offering their services to non-priority customers wishing to avail of a satellite broadband service (any retail customer other than a ‘priority customer’). These customers will be expected to pay the cost of the set-up/installation fee, in addition to the usual monthly charges.
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