Randox, the global biotechnology company, has invested £400,000 in a project to upgrade the telecoms infrastructure near its County Antrim headquarters and in the process created a new network that could also deliver superfast broadband to families and businesses in the area.

Stephen Fawl, the company's IT manager, said before the investment project fibre-optic broadband had previously been unavailable.

Mr Fawl said Randox took the decision to upgrade the local telecoms infrastructure because of the company’s growing IT requirements.

The upgrade involved laying down 12 kilometres of fibre-optic cable, stretching from Nutts Corner to the Lough Neagh shoreline.

Mr Fawl said Randox now has the “capacity, security and speed that we need”.

“Randox is an international company, dealing with customers in more than 145 countries, and as such we need a world class communications network.

“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.”

Local politicians have welcomed the company’s investment in the area.

Thomas Burns, SDLP councillor for Aldergrove and Crumlin, said it will allow people who live near the new cable to tap into some of the highest broad band 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.”