Network operator CityFibre has this morning announced that they’ve begun the roll-out phase of their £108m state-aid supported Project Gigabit contract for the West & East Sussex (Lot 16 & 1) area in England. This will extend their 10Gbps capable FTTP broadband ISP network to an additional 57,000 hard-to-reach rural premises.
The figures given in Cityfibre’s announcement today differ from those they gave when the contract was announced in February 2024 (here), which specified a contract value of £100m and planned coverage for around 52,000 premises. This suggests that a modest extension may have taken place since the deal was signed, which is often due to changes in the commercial plans of rival operators.
Sadly, today’s announcement doesn’t provide any details of where CityFibre are starting to build or how long it will take to complete the deployment, which is a bit disappointing. But hopefully more information will be forthcoming in the future.
The operator, which is supported by various ISPs like Vodafone, TalkTalk, Zen Internet and more (Sky Broadband will follow in 2025), already covers around 4 million UK premises with full fibre broadband – mostly in urban areas – and their ambition is to eventually cover up to 8m (funded by c.£2.4bn in equity, c.£4.9bn debt and c.£800m of BDUK / public subsidy) – representing c.30% of the UK.
Greg Mesch, Chief Executive Officer at CityFibre, said:
“We are excited to bring full fibre connectivity to hard-to-reach homes and businesses across East and West Sussex, opening doors to new possibilities and enabling communities to flourish. This Project Gigabit rollout demonstrates our commitment to bridging the digital divide, ensuring that residents in rural areas can experience the benefits of enhanced connectivity.”
Sir Chris Bryant, UK Telecoms Minister, said:
“It is fantastic to see spades in the ground delivering lightning-fast broadband to hard-to-reach parts of Sussex, and connecting communities that need it most. This government investment delivers faster internet in turn helping businesses to grow, securing more jobs, and ensures everyone has the digital access they need to thrive in the modern world.”
Over the past couple of years CityFibre has secured nine Project Gigabit contracts, totalling over £782m in government subsidies to serve more than 464,000 hard to reach rural premises across Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Hampshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Berkshire, Leicestershire, Warwickshire, Sussex, Kent, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire & Milton Keynes.
The network operator has also committed their own funding to help build commercially beyond those contracted areas (i.e. a total of £1.2bn in combined public and private investment or 1.366 million extra premises may be delivered as a result of these contracts).