Alternative network provider Freedom Fibre has today issued a short progress update on their £24m (state aid) Project Gigabit contract for North Shropshire – Lot 25.02 (here), which will see their full fibre (FTTP) broadband ISP network being expanded to cover “around” 12,000 hard-to-reach rural homes.
In case anybody has forgotten, the original announcement stated that the first properties could start to go live from October 2024 and that the 3-year deployment was then expected to complete by around mid-2026. The operator’s latest update notes how they’ve now deployed their green street cabinets in Hadnall, Harlescott, Montford Bridge and Cockshutt.
“From December 2024 we expect our new full-fibre broadband network to be available for residents in parts of Hadnall, Upper Battlefield, Shrewsbury, Upper Ercall, Roden, Bomere Heath & West Felton,” which we assume is a reference to them finally becoming ‘Ready for Service’ (RFS) by customers. But that’s really all we get, and there’s no mention of premises passed.
Freedom Fibre is also providing a range of social services through councils and community groups in these areas. For example, the operator has sponsored networking events run by Project SY12, BizEd Project CiC, and Wem Rural Parish Council throughout 2024. These groups hosted several events in Wem, Ellesmere and Whitchurch, bringing local businesspeople together and encouraging entrepreneurship.
In addition, the 2024 Freedom Fund (funding for community projects) has provided “thousands of pounds of funding to approximately 23 North Shropshire Community groups” to support their good and green projects.