A Belfast-based telecommunications provider has entered a partnership to deliver full fibre broadband services to businesses across Northern Ireland. The collaboration aims to simplify the process for companies seeking to upgrade their internet connectivity by offering a single managed service.
Barclay Communications will now offer Fibrus full fibre services through the wholesale platform operated by Hyperfast Networks. The available speeds will range from 100Mbps to 1,000Mbps. This rollout is connected to the government-supported Project Stratum initiative, which focuses on extending high-speed broadband to previously underserved areas.
Simplifying Business Connectivity
The core of the new partnership is the provision of a fully managed service for business customers. This means Barclay Communications will handle the entire process for clients, including ordering, installation, billing, and ongoing technical support through one point of contact. The company stated that this integrated approach is designed to address the complexity that has often been a barrier for businesses considering a switch to full fibre.
John Roulston, Sales Director at Barclay Communications, commented on the rationale behind the partnership. He noted that while businesses are aware faster broadband is available, the process of accessing it can be unclear. “Businesses know faster broadband exists. But they often don’t know what they can access, who to speak to or how complicated the process will be,” Roulston said. “By working with Fibrus through Hyperfast Networks, it means one conversation rather than multiple touchpoints and complexity.”
Market Context and Adoption Drive
While Northern Ireland is reported to lead the United Kingdom in overall gigabit-capable broadband availability, a significant number of businesses continue to use older, legacy copper-based services. The nationwide process of retiring these traditional copper networks is accelerating, creating increased urgency for organizations to migrate to future-proof full fibre solutions.
Barclay Communications, which describes itself as Northern Ireland’s largest locally-owned telecoms wholesaler, has identified a specific market opportunity. The company estimates there are approximately 7,000 businesses in the region that are already passed by the full fibre network but have not yet adopted the technology. As part of this new partnership, the company plans to proactively contact these organizations to check service availability and discuss suitability.
To encourage adoption, the company is introducing an incentive for qualifying customers. The offer consists of six months of free broadband service, which Barclay Communications estimates could translate to combined business savings of around £1.7 million across the region.
Network Scale and Future Outlook
The underlying Fibrus full fibre network, which Hyperfast Networks provides wholesale access to, has now passed more than 325,000 homes and business premises. This extensive infrastructure forms the foundation for the services being offered through the new partnership.
Looking ahead, the focus will be on executing the outreach strategy to the identified businesses and facilitating their migration. The continued switch-off of the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and copper-based services will likely drive further demand. The partnership’s success will be measured by its ability to convert the latent availability of full fibre into active business connections, contributing to the region’s digital infrastructure goals under initiatives like Project Stratum.
Source: Mobile News
