Sinn Féin MLA Declan McAleer has said Project Stratum must deliver for those in rural areas who cannot access reliable broadband. 

Declan McAleer said: 

“I asked the Economy Minister whether the database of premises is sufficiently up-to-date to include all eligible premises in the Project Stratum intervention area, and particularly those premises which have been built since the project Stratum Open Market Review was carried out in 2018. 

“The Minister said that the Department has received a number of enquiries since the address / postcode eligibility checker for Project Stratum was launched by Fibrus Networks on the hyperfastni website, which has highlighted some anomalies with the dataset. 

“The Minister assures me that her officials are assessing all enquiries on a case-by-case basis and are working with Land and Property Services in order to access the most up to date premises information.  

“Given the necessity of broadband connectivity to everyday life, it is crucial that no one who is eligible for superfast broadband is left out of this £350 million scheme.    

“This is a very important project, which will finally deliver decent broadband to homes and businesses which have been without this vital utility for too long. 

“Sinn Féin will continue to work to ensure rural dwellers, homes and businesses have access to decent broadband services.”