To ask the Minister for the Economy for an update on the roll out of Project Stratum to improve broadband connectivity in South Antrim.

As you may be aware, Project Stratum will utilise £165m of public funding, £150m of which was secured under the Confidence and Supply Agreement and £15m from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, together with Fibrus Networks’ investment of more than £45m, to deliver gigabit-capable broadband infrastructure to more than 76,000 primarily rural premises across Northern Ireland. Of those, 5,203 premises are within the South Antrim Constituency.

Current deployment plans show that the first premises in the South Antrim Constituency are scheduled for improvement in Summer 2022 with deployment continuing until Summer 2023.

There are a further 146 eligible premises within the South Antrim Constituency that are currently out of scope due to the exhaustion of funding. There is, however, a proposed solution to address this and my Department is engaging with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to secure the additional funding that, under the terms of the contract, would permit more eligible premises to be reached. We expect to be in a position to provide a further update on this matter later in the summer months.

A website has been developed by Fibrus Networks to provide key information throughout the deployment phase of the project. The website includes an on-line postcode/address checker, enabling citizens and businesses to confirm if/when their premises are included for improvement. The website can be accessed at www.hyperfastni.com. If necessary, residents and businesses should register their interest in improved broadband to ensure they are kept informed of the project.