AQW 41873/11-15

Ms Claire Sugden
Independent
East Londonderry

Tabled Date: 06/02/2015
Answered On Date: 18/02/2015
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment which areas of East Londonderry do not have adequate and reliable broadband coverage; and what measures her Department is taking to address this issue.

Answer:

I would refer the member to the NI Direct website (http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/broadband-improvement-project) where details of the postcode areas to be addressed by the current Northern Ireland Broadband Improvement Project (NIBIP) can be found. This project aims to improve the broadband connectivity for more than 45,000 premises by the end of 2015.

In addition, my Department has consulted on the proposed intervention area for the Superfast Roll-out Programme Phase 2 (SRP2) project, which seeks to further increase the coverage of superfast broadband services across Northern Ireland by 2017. An Invitation to Tender was issued on 12 November, with a closing date for bids of 26 January 2015. A bid was received and is under consideration. If this bid is acceptable, it is anticipated that contract award will take place in early March 2015.

The consultation document, which can be found on the DETI website (http://www.detini.gov.uk/index/what-we-do/deti-telecoms-index/consultations_from_2014/superfast_rollout_programme_phase_2.htm), contains a list of postcodes where it is considered additional public intervention may be required when the NIBIP is complete.