22 January 2008
Just under 200 Belfast residents are benefiting from quick fibre-optic broadband connections in a network infrastructure trial.
The government scheme will see the Housing Association tenants benefit from connection speeds of 20Mb per second - far higher than the UK average.
Fibre to the cabinet - connections which use a mixture of fibre-optic cables and more traditional copper wires - and fibre to the home - where only fibre-optic is used in the network - were both trialled, enabling a direct comparison to be made.
Economy Minister Nigel Dodds, commenting on the pilot scheme, said: "The information and knowledge gained from this trial will help shape our future strategy for broadband services in Northern Ireland.
"We now know that high speed broadband can be delivered through fibre optics at a reasonable cost into new housing developments."
The government worked alongside broadband firm Virgin Media, along with housing contractors Clanmil, to set up the trial.
© 2008 Adfero Ltd
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