CityFibre has begun the build phase of their £58m state-aid supported Project Gigabit broadband rollout contract for Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire & East Berkshire (LOT 26) in England (here), which will see them expand their full fibre (FTTP) network to cover 34,000 of the hardest-to-reach premises (150,000 if you include their complementary commercial build).
The government’s Project Gigabit programme, which is overseen by the Building Digital UK (BDUK) agency, aims to help extend 1Gbps (download) capable networks from 85% coverage today to “nationwide” coverage (c. 99%) by around 2030 (here). Commercial investment has already delivered more than 80% of this, which leaves the government’s scheme to focus on tackling the final 10-20% (mostly rural and some sub-urban areas), where the private sector alone often fails.
CityFibre’s engineers have initially begun their construction work for Lot 26 in rural parts of East Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, with works in Hertfordshire set to follow sometime in 2025, although the operator hasn’t said precisely where the build is initially taking place within those counties.
The work will also support CityFibre’s aspiration toward covering up to 8 million UK premises with their new 2.2Gbps speed network (funded by c.£2.4bn in equity, c.£4.9bn debt and c.£800m of BDUK / public subsidy) – representing c.30% of the UK. So far, they’ve covered around 3.8m premises and have connected 400,000 customers (8th May 2024).
Greg Mesch, Chief Executive Officer at CityFibre, said:
“We’re thrilled to be bringing world class digital infrastructure to East Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire, helping to ensure no one is left behind. With build now underway, we look forward to helping communities free themselves from the copper networks of the past and experience next generation full fibre services that are revolutionising how people work, relax and communicate.”
CityFibre is currently contracted to build its 10Gbps capable FTTP network to a total of almost 465,000 hard-to-reach homes through the Project Gigabit programme over the next few years. This represents a total of over £782m in government subsidies for the operator and is said to unlock almost £1.2bn in combined public and private investment in rural broadband (pushing the total build to 1.366 million extra premises).
CityFibre’s Project Gigabit Contracts
Lot no.
Location
Subsidised Premises
Public Subsidy
5
Cambridgeshire
45,000
£69m
2
Suffolk
80,000
£100m
7
Norfolk
62,000
£114m
27
Hampshire
76,000
£104m
26
Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire & East Berkshire
34,000
£58m
11
Leicestershire & Warwickshire
38,000
£71m
16 & 1
West & East Sussex
52,000
£100m
29
Kent
50,000
£112m
12
Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire & Milton Keynes
25,000
£51m