First Minister and deputy First Minister celebrate NI’s leading position as full fibre broadband trailblazer

Fibrus successfully delivered the landmark £200 million project on time and within budget, bringing full fibre broadband to over 81,000 homes and businesses in what was one of the largest telecoms infrastructure project ever seen in Northern Ireland. The venture was backed by the Department for the Economy, Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) and the UK Government.  

Following the completion of Project Stratum, Fibrus was awarded the Project Gigabit NI contract in December 2025 by the Department for the Economy, on behalf of the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology, which will see gigabit-capable broadband offered to a further 9,000 rural homes and businesses across Northern Ireland. 

The First Minister and deputy First Minister joined Fibrus onsite at a customer’s farm in Coagh, County Tyrone. Littlebridge Farm, a 90-cow Jersey dairy farm, was connected to full fibre broadband through Hyperfast Networks in May 2025, enabling owner Caleb Howard to embrace a digital transformation at the farm.  

The First Minister and deputy First Minister saw first-hand how the farm’s Lely robotic milking system has significantly reduced milking time, allowing for smoother production and more efficient operations. 

Through its connection enabled by Project Stratum, Littlebridge Farm has also been able to open a fully connected farm shop, which sells local, organic produce including Jersey ice cream, home-produced beef and pork, and a range of other produce from surrounding farms. A Jersey-cow milk vending machine has also recently been installed, which relies on a Wi-Fi connection for card payments. 

First Minister Michelle O’Neill said:  

It was great to visit Littlebridge Farm to see how improved digital connectivity is transforming this rural business, and supporting innovation within our agri-food sector.

High quality internet access is a necessity and helps support a more regionally balanced economy. For families, farmers and businesses, being properly connected means being able to plan, invest, innovate and look to the future with confidence. That’s especially important in our rural communities where good connectivity can make all the difference.

Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said:  

Visiting Littlebridge Farm has highlighted the benefits that enhanced digital connectivity is having on rural communities and local businesses.

Full fibre broadband is transforming daily life, supporting new enterprises like Caleb’s Farm Shop, and improving efficiency across rural sectors.

The successful rollout of Project Stratum has delivered significant improvements for our rural communities with 96 per cent of premises now having access to superfast broadband, making life, and business, much easier to manage.

Caleb Howard, Owner of Littlebridge Farm, said: 

Project Stratum has enabled me to take operations at Littlebridge to a new level. The importance of reliable technology on the farm will only continue to grow.

Through our full fibre connection, we are able to move with the times, such as introducing robotics into our milking parlour and overhauling our day-to-day business and farming operations. A welcomed benefit of our new full fibre broadband is that it has freed up more of my time allowing me to focus on new projects for the local community, like our tractor rides and on-site barbeques.

Dominic Kearns, CEO and Co-Founder of Fibrus, said:  

We are delighted to have welcomed the First Minister and deputy First Minister onsite to witness firsthand the innovation and real-world impacts Project Stratum has empowered on farms and rural businesses across the region.

We’re extremely proud of our role in Project Stratum, a once-in-a-generation digital infrastructure project. As a result, rural and underserved areas are now better connected than ever before. Helping rural communities to thrive is at the heart of everything we do at Fibrus, and Littlebridge Farm is a shining, technological example of how better connectivity is transforming agricultural best practice.

Through our current delivery of Project Gigabit NI, we are building on that momentum, extending gigabit-capable broadband to even more rural homes and businesses, and continuing to close the digital divide across NI.