Business owners in Fermanagh are being encouraged to get ‘internet ready’ in advance of the upcoming G8 summit which takes place on 17th and 18th June 2013.

Thousands of people, including delegates, media and security personnel from around the world are expected to attend the two day summit at the Lough Erne Golf Resort with many of the visitors expected to stay in accommodation throughout Fermanagh. Internet service providers in Northern Ireland believe that the event will result in significantly increased requirements for high speed fixed and WIFI connections across the region and are encouraging business owners to prepare accordingly.

Frank McManus, head of wholesale sales and services for BT said, “90% of premises in Northern Ireland, including Fermanagh, are connected to a fibre-enabled street cabinet, which places it at the forefront of fibre broadband roll-out in Europe. Take up of fibre broadband in Fermanagh stands at 17% currently, which is a strong figure, however, it signals that many businesses are yet to upgrade to fibre broadband and be in a position to offer visitors access to high speed fixed and wireless communications services.”

A recent survey of fibre broadband customers conducted by BT* in the UK revealed that:

• 60% of businesses believe that fibre broadband has transformed the way they work• 53% believe that they have saved money as a result of getting high speed fibre broadband• 70% believe that fibre broadband has opened up the potential to use many more applications, such as video conferencing• 69% believe that it has made them more efficient in business

BT has invested significantly in Northern Ireland’s communications infrastructure, directly and also in partnership with the Department of Enterprise, Trade & Investment.  The fibre broadband network is open access, meaning that other internet service providers can use the network to provide competitive and innovative services to their customers.  Currently 24 internet service providers are using the network, delivering download speeds of up to 80Mbps and upload speeds of up to 20Mbps. For more information on fibre broadband, availability, benefits and a list of providers, visit www.nibroadband.com.

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*Survey conducted by Jigsaw Research on behalf of BT. Included a sample of 1 focus group with non-users, 6 case studies (1-2 depths) with users, and 250 online quantitative interviews with businesses in the UK between December 2012 and January 2013

For further information, please contact:Gina Kelly, PR & Corporate Relations Manager, BT IrelandTel: 00 353 86 410 1009, Email: gina.kelly@bt.com

Notes to editor:

About BTBT is one of the world’s leading providers of communications services and solutions, serving customers in more than 170 countries.  Its principal activities include the provision of networked IT services globally; local, national and international telecommunications services to its customers for use at home, at work and on the move; broadband and internet products and services and converged fixed/mobile products and services.  BT consists principally of four lines of business: BT Global Services, BT Retail, BT Wholesale and Openreach.

In the year ended 31 March 2012, BT Group’s revenue was £18,897m with profit before taxation of £2,445m.

British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group.  BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York.For more information, visit www.btplc.com