BT today announced plans to invest up to £335 million sterling (#8364;498.9 million) over the next five years in a communications revolution in Ireland.
The company said it provide a updated communications network carrying fixed, mobile, voice, data video-on-demand and broadband services.
Government ministers in both Belfast and Dublin welcomed the announcement.
The programme is part of BT's multi-billion 21st Century Network investment, which will provide access to wholesale broadband services with speeds of up to 24 Mbit/s in Northern Ireland.
BT said it was developing what promised to be the world's most advanced communications infrastructure to give increased customer choice and flexibility and to enable the introduction of new services for all communications providers more quickly in the future.
The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheal Martin, TD, said: "This is a strategically significant announcement for Ireland, north and south. BT's investment will underpin our ability to compete economically on the world stage by having access to state-of-the-art infrastructure."