BT said this morning it is planning a multimillion euro upgrade to its IT and telecoms network in the north-western region. This upgrade is driven by business opportunities amongst indigenous and global companies either locating, or planning to locate, in the area. The company hasn’t disclosed the amount it plans to invest.
BT already has a substantial presence in the north-west. Two years ago it opened a new international Point of Presence (PoP) located in the City of Derry and also upgraded domestic services to include MegaStream Ethernet, which offers extensive coverage and flexible bandwidth from Derry across the UK.
The service allows competitive access prices for businesses requiring services in the north-west, whether they are local businesses expanding abroad or inward investors to the region.
BT says the investment, enabling faster internet speeds, enhanced security and greater network resilience, will benefit many companies across the region.
One such company is AssetCo, a Sunday Times UK top track 250-ranked privately owned company. AssetCo has chosen to locate in Buncrana, Co Donegal on the back of new infrastructure provision in the region.
The company last month announced a €5.2m investment in the area and the creation of 130 jobs. AssetCo provides total managed services solutions to emergency, public sector and utilities players in Ireland and the UK, including the Metropolitan Police, Lincoln Fire and Rescue, Scottish Water and Northern Ireland Electricity.
“This is a key milestone for BT as it plays an important part in delivering our all-island strategy,” said BT Ireland chief executive Danny McLaughlin. “We are ensuring that business customers in the north-west are fully connected to the most advanced data and voice services in the world, as cost effectively as possible.
“This helps indigenous companies based in the region to expand abroad as well as providing world class communications infrastructure to global companies which have located, or are seeking to locate, in the north-west,” McLaughlin said.
By John Kennedy
