Broadband and Digital Technology: Northern Ireland
Question
Carla Lockhart
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department plans to increase investment in digital connectivity and broadband infrastructure in rural Northern Ireland.
Answer
Kanishka NarayanAccording to the independent website, ThinkBroadband.com, 97% of premises in Northern Ireland already have access to gigabit-capable broadband. This is the highest of any of the four UK nations.
Project Stratum, which has had £199 million of UK government funding, completed delivery in June 2025. This delivered gigabit-capable broadband to almost 81,100 premises in Northern Ireland that previously did not have access to superfast broadband.
The Northern Ireland Department for the Economy (DfE) is currently undertaking a Project Gigabit procurement to help fill remaining gaps in gigabit broadband coverage. This will predominantly target rural and hard to reach areas.