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Tyrone family business witnessing benefits of full fibre broadband thanks to Hyperfast NI.

M Beattie & Son Ltd has been providing the agri sector with an animal feeds and general merchants service for over 70 years and now thanks to Hyperfast NI and the installation of full fibre broadband, they have taken their business to the next level!

The fourth generation family-run Animal Feed Manufacturer, based just outside Newtownstewart, also operates a haulage business, Farm supply shop and Beattie’s Toy Barn, that sells farm toys and children’s clothing.

Transport Manager Jason Beattie said full fibre broadband has completely transformed the day-to-day running of the Co Tyrone company, which has a fleet of eleven trucks and employs 16 people.

He particularly appreciates the fast and reliable service, with speeds of up to 900mb available.

“We were delighted when we learnt that Hyperfast NI were building broadband infrastructure in our area through Project Stratum. Before the announcement from the Department for Economy on the government funding, we were quoted outrageous fees between £25k and £30K for installation from other providers! So for our business that was just impossible.

Once Hyperfast NI laid the infrastructure, Fibrus were able to connect us in no time – and now our business is reaping the benefits of full fibre broadband to our premises.

“And we’ve just launched our Toy Barn website – which is going very well.

“We used to go to craft fairs with our toys to sell them coming up to Christmas. Now we do it online; the volume of sales is phenomenal.”

New technology has helped grow the company, which has its own manufacturing mill along with outsourced nuts and pellets.

“We’re now able to access security systems and have direct contact with our Dungiven site,” he said.

“Working from home is also possible because we can access our full systems now. Before, and during the pandemic, it was a struggle for us. We were working with shocking speeds but now, thankfully, we’re onto a winner.”

Jason said the lack of restrictions on downloads has led to a digital revolution that, in turn, has improved overall efficiency.

“Internet is a big part of our lives now,” he said.

“Things are quicker. Loading a screen is faster. Staff aren’t frustrated.

“Life is going paperless. We can now email customer statements and they can have their invoice in real time without waiting for the post.”

Installing full fibre broadband earlier this year has streamlined the company’s operations. With the full fibre network brought right to the door, Jason said there’s been no drop-outs when processing payments, no glitchy video calls and no issues with slow administration.

“Previously, we had zero online presence,” he said.

“Now all our banking is done online.

“In the past, our card services were processed on mobile sim card so we had to go to a window to get a signal and take the money in an old fashioned way.

“If the signal went down, we had no card payments at all. We ended up having to phone customers the next day when the card machine was working and take payments over the phone.

“Now it’s much more secure, our full card payments now are done via Wi-Fi.”

“We’ve had phenomenal customer service,” he said.

“We placed our order as soon as it went live in the area and had it installed on site within three days.

“There’s no doubt it’s been a real game changer for the business.

“We’re based in a rural community but now connected to the world.”

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