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Daisy Lodge is a purpose-built therapeutic centre located in Newcastle Co. Down for families across the island of Ireland affected by cancer. During families stay they can spend quality time together in a safe and supportive environment, far removed from the pressures of cancer treatment and hospital wards. Daisy Lodge’s five star facilities include a gym and well-being centre with a nail and hair salon, four therapy suites and a sauna. There is also a playroom, games room, teenagers’ space, communal lounges, home cinema, safe and fun outdoor play areas, a restaurant and dining room. The centre has a dedicated team of cancer support specialists, they also offer group sessions, workshops and facilitate peer support from other families.
Fibrus was a Cancer Fund for Children charity partner for one year in 2022/23 and during a charity visit Corinna, IT & Facilities Manager asked about getting connected to the Hyperfast NI network. Previously, Daisy Lodge had been quoted a connection charge of £18-20k for a similar broadband service because of its remote location however, because of Project Stratum government funding that is focussed on connecting the most remote rural premises across Northern Ireland, the connection to the network was at no cost to the charity, which was incredibly important to them as money saved could be spent on other charitable services for the families they support.
Previously Daisy Lodge had a copper cable broadband connection and then upgraded to a satellite connection which offered good service, but was affected by weather and was not as fast as the fibre connection they now have. There is no buffering now, all the kids can use the full fibre broadband for their gaming and watching films. Cancer Fund for Children no longer get complaints that it is not fast enough to access their online content. They have 16 wireless access points installed that provide full internet access across all of the site. Daisy Lodge has a very poor mobile phone signal, but now with full fibre access anyone can turn on their Wi-Fi calling, and administration staff now have access to MS Teams and business phones for better collaboration. Getting a full fibre connection as a result of Project Stratum has made the user experience of both charity operations and their guests much more seamless.