It is hoped that a project designed to give greater access to broadband in rural areas will be completed by December next year. SDLP MLA for South Down Karen McKevitt and councillor Gillian Fitzpatrick recently met with representatives from the Department of Enterprise Trade and Investment (DETI) regarding the roll out of the Northern Ireland Broadband Improvement Project which was announced by Minister Arlene Foster in February. Mrs McKevitt said that within the next few weeks she will have obtained the finalized details of every house adsn business that will benefit the project . While it remains unclear exactly when broadband ‘hot spots’ in the South Down and Newry Area will be able to benefit from improvements I am told that the residents and businesses will be informed by letter when the work has been completed in their area and it is hoped that the project will be finished by December 2015,” she said. “Too often I hear accounts from constituents about how no or slow broadband speeds effects their daily lives. In some instances family life can be disrupted as parents living in rural areas have not alternative but to drive their children to a relative’s house or to a library in surrounding urban areas so the child can do their homework. This is a major inconvenience and I hope the improvements which will be brought forward by BT updating cabinets and existing infrastructure will make a positive change.”
Newry Democrat
8th July 2014
“