@NewtronStar:
As a fellow N.I. resident all be it in the N.W. of the province, I was of the same opinion as yourself with regard to the likelihood of FTTP availability in my small semi-rural private housing development of some 45 years vintage with UG POT's distribution, cabling being DIG from footway chamber to house, however, last month, OR's sub-contractors, KN Circet and their sub-contractors arrived and promptly ducted the complete footwalk area pulling in the fibre and terminating shortly afterwards, all completed within 2 weeks.
The fibre distribution node chamber is right outside my front garden wall but will still have to overcome the fibre to house run without any existing ducting when I decide to order FTTP service.
My complete town area as far as I can see is virtually fully fibred for OH distribution, have yet to observe a telegraph pole in my travels that does not have a fibre distribution point fitted.
OR (sub-contractors) are quite quickly working through the areas where UG distribution exists.
FTTP may not be as far away as you think
Regarding the head-end exchange.
My POTS exchange is NILDW.
The major town exchange is NILDM which I assumed would be the fibre head-end exchange.
However, the day the KN Circet tech's were terminating the fibre in my distribution chamber and I had a chat, they advised the tech. at the other end of the connection checking out the terminations was located at NIBRH exchange, a very minor area exchange many miles away completely at the other side of town?
Edit: My area has Virgin cable availability, way back to the NTL days, I have never taken that option, don't like Virgin, wonder if that is a factor regarding OR's decision to fibre out the area?