Global biotechnology firm Randox, has invested more than £400,000 in upgrading the telecoms infrastructure near its headquarters in Crumlin, County Antrim. As a result, a number of businesses and residents in Northern Ireland will have access to previously unavailable fibre-optic broadband. The upgrade, essential to supporting Randox’s growing IT requirements, has involved laying down 12 kilometres of fibre-optic cable, stretching from Nutts Corner to the Lough Neagh shoreline.

The telecoms project is part of a wider investment in software, telecoms and data processing by the medical diagnostics company, as IT Manager Stephen Fawl explains:

“Randox is an international company, dealing with customers in more than 145 countries, and as such we need a world class communications network. This new fibreoptic broadband gives us the capacity, security and speed that we need. The new network extending from Nutts Corner to Randox headquarters runs at a hefty 20 gigabytes…That is enough capacity for 15 business parks or a quarter of a million homes.”

Thomas Burns, SDLP Councillor for Aldergrove and Crumlin is encouraging local residents and business owners to take advantage of the improved connectivity:

“The investment by Randox, means that anyone in proximity to the new cable can tap into the highest broadband speeds available. Businesses, especially those depending on electronic orders and skype communications can now expect the same speed and security of internet enjoyed by those in Belfast. Residents in the area can also upgrade through their broadband provider. Before this upgrade project, much of the surrounding area was a telecoms dead zone; but now this is a win-win situation with a significant boost for the local community.”

Residents and business owners in the Crumlin area keen to upgrade to high-speed fibre-optic broadband should contact their internet service provider to discuss various upgrade bundles.