Broadband ISP and mobile network operator EE (BT) has announced that it is in the process of updating their existing SCAM and SPAM blocking technologies, which should enable them to root out additional scam tactics (e.g. “Hi Mum, Hi Dad” scams) and help protect consumers from hard to spot scams. The operator reports that its […]

The UK Government has proposed to change the law so that internet-based TV channels on smart TVs, which are delivered over home broadband ISP connections, would need to follow the same Ofcom content rules as on traditional TV to ensure “young and vulnerable audiences are protected from harmful programming“. According to the government, more than […]

The Building Digital UK agency has released their latest September 2023 progress update on the Government’s £5bn Project Gigabit broadband rollout scheme, which is now running live contracts and procurements worth over £2bn in state aid (up from £1.4bn in July) to help extend coverage to an extra 1.1 million hard to reach premises. The […]

Network operator FullFibre Limited (Fibre Heroes), which is rolling out a new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband infrastructure across various parts of England for other ISPs to use, has signed a new supply deal with solutions provider NETS International to help “ensure [a] faster network build“. At present the operator is already aiming to extend their […]

CityFibre has announced that they’ve awarded their “first round of contracts” to civil engineering firms under their state-aid supported Project Gigabit broadband rollout contracts in Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Hampshire and Suffolk. The deployments will bring full fibre (FTTP) lines to a total of 715,000 extra rural properties. The operator, which is supported by ISPs like Vodafone, […]

Press Release

CityFibre, the UK’s largest independent full fibre platform, has awarded its first round of contracts to build partners as it mobilises to deliver four county-wide full fibre rollouts under the government’s £5bn Project Gigabit programme. The deployments will bring ‘gigabit capable’ infrastructure to 715,000 rural properties that would otherwise be excluded from commercial rollouts.

CityFibre has now appointed Granemore Group in Cambridgeshire, OCU Group and CCN Communications in Hampshire, OCU Group in Norfolk, and Telelink, OCU Group and Granemore Group in Suffolk. The appointment of build partners will enable CityFibre to begin the first phase of construction in each location. The first homes passed by the rollout will be in Cambridgeshire and are expected in October.

The four Project Gigabit contracts, awarded to CityFibre under a competitive process and totalling £387m of government subsidy, will be supported by an additional private investment from CityFibre of £223m, delivering a combined total investment in the project of well over half a billion pounds.

CityFibre’s nationwide full fibre network now passes over 3m premises, with more than 2.7m Ready For Service, as it continues its full fibre network rollout to reach up to a third of the UK. CityFibre is on course to deliver approximately one million Ready For Service homes this year, and comfortably remains the second largest full fibre platform with take-up in mature locations now approaching 30%.

All CityFibre’s rollouts now benefit from the latest full fibre technology known as XGS-PON. This enables CityFibre’s Internet Service Provider Customers to offer homes and business access to even faster and more reliable services, with 2.5Gbps speeds available today, 35x faster than the UK’s average, and has the capability to deliver up to 10Gbps in the future.

Greg Mesch, Chief Executive Officer at CityFibre, said: “We’re excited to get our Project Gigabit rollouts underway, bringing faster and more reliable broadband connectivity to hundreds of thousands of rural homes and businesses areas that were at risk of missing out. With the legacy copper networks in these areas soon to be made obsolete, we look forward to providing all Internet Service Providers a powerful new network from which to better serve their customers.”

Project Gigabit is the government’s flagship £5 billion programme to enable hard-to-reach communities to access lightning-fast gigabit-capable broadband. It targets homes and businesses that are not included in broadband suppliers’ commercial plans, reaching parts of the UK that might otherwise miss out on getting the digital connectivity they need.

BDUK awarded CityFibre a £69 million contract to provide up to 45,000 hard-to-reach premises in Cambridgeshire with access to gigabit-capable broadband.

BDUK awarded CityFibre £318m of UK government funding to provide up to 218,000 homes and businesses across Norfolk, Suffolk and Hampshire with access to gigabit-capable broadband.
By the end of 2025, the government is targeting 85% of the UK to have gigabit-capable connectivity, and then nationwide coverage by 2030.

Mobile operator O2 (Virgin Media) has signed a new multi-year partnership with UK tech charity Jangala, which aims to help get thousands of people affected by data poverty online by introducing free WiFi hotspots via the roll-out of 5,000 broadband-enabling “Get Boxes” to homes, community centres, refuges, and homeless shelters. The “Get Boxes” appear to […]

The UK government’s new Smart Infrastructure Pilots Programme (SIPP) has committed £1.3 million to help six areas across the country to trial “smart street lamps“, which will be upgraded to house both Electric Vehicle (EV) charging hubs and boost wireless coverage (broadband and mobile), including via 5G or free public WiFi technology. The successful pilots […]

The Scottish Government has launched a consultation on new proposals that closely mirror those recently introduced across England (here and here), which would effectively mandate that property developers ensure their new build homes are constructed with support for gigabit-capable broadband connections. At present every building and building unit in Scotland must already be designed and […]

A meeting in the House of Commons (Parliament) was held yesterday that saw MPs from various different parties debate the proposed merger of Three UK and Vodafone (here), which highlighted how the dominant concerns for MPs centre around issues of national security, job losses and the risk of higher prices for consumers. The merger, which […]