Stronger When We're Connected

Our ambition is to drive Northern Ireland's digital future and we're committed to building the infrastructure the region needs to compete in the global digital economy.

I'm delighted that we've already hit a major milestone with more than 260,000 homes and businesses in Northern Ireland being able to enjoy the benefits of new ultrafast, ultra-reliable internet access as a result of the roll out of new future-proof ‘Fibre-to-the-Premises’ (FTTP) broadband technology.

This means that across Northern Ireland nearly 30% of premises now have access to faster, ‘Full Fibre’ broadband keeping Openreach on track to make sure almost 40% of premises are fully fibre enabled by the end of March 2020. This year alone, 187,000 premises have been included in the region-wide build programme.

In the Belfast area 120,000 premises can now connect to Openreach Full Fibre broadband, which is more that 60% of homes and businesses.

Capable of speeds up to 1Gbps – enough bandwidth for a family of four to all stream ultra HD or 4k quality movies or TV simultaneously, without waiting or buffering – these upgraded fibre connections are helping to make sure that we have a reliable, future-proof and dependable service that will be a platform for economic growth in the region.

We’re building a network that delivers more than just speed. Full Fibre broadband will provide Northern Ireland with a future proof and consistent service that will help renew towns and communities across the region and supports Northern Ireland's position as a leading digital economy.

We’re incredibly proud, and very excited, to unveil our new marketing campaign, with a TV ad featuring Ulster Rugby and two of our Openreach engineers. This is a first for us here.

The campaign is part of the launch of Openreach’s new four-year sponsorship deal with Ulster Rugby and highlights the role Openreach and its 750 strong team play in building the network that connects us to each other.

The campaign celebrates the importance of connections, from the families and friends that come together at weekend sports events and the coaches and communities that help support young people to our very own engineers who play such a crucial role in building the broadband network that keeps Northern Ireland connected.

As one of the new shirt sponsors of Ulster Rugby, we worked with the club, along with groups from across the region and with our own engineers, to tell this story and took inspiration from some real-life anecdotes and personal experiences to create our campaign. This included stories such as that of current Ulster Rugby player Robert Baloucoune and Ulster Academy player Joe Dunleavy, as well as stories of people like lifetime Ulster supporter Ruth Kohner and that of our own Openreach engineers.

Using real life stories as inspiration allowed us to bring this campaign to life and helped us to show how connections are at the heart of everything we do. We really are stronger when we’re connected.

Find out more and see our promo here.

Mairead Meyer

Director Openreach Northern Ireland