CityFibre has identified 216 additional towns and villages that are to benefit from FTTP rollout, completing the list of locations in its £4 billion nationwide investment programme.
The locations selected will see CityFibre extend its networks to much smaller conurbations, bringing FTTP to communities outside the UK’s major towns and cities.
These new rollouts will reach in excess of 3 million homes and represent more than £1.5 billion in private investment. This brings CityFibre’s total committed build programme to approximately £4 billion, making it the largest independent investment in the UK’s digital infrastructure for a generation.
The scale of CityFibre’s rollout has been made possible by the favourable regulatory environment established by Ofcom to encourage infrastructure competition, making it quicker and easier to deploy full fibre networks. It is expected that Ofcom’s imminent market review will support competition in the sector as the key to investment as industry accelerates to meet Government’s 2025 target.
The nationwide build programme is expected to be substantially completed by 2025 and will address approximately a third of the UK market including up to 8 million homes, 800,000 businesses, 400,000 public sector sites and 250,000 5G access points. CityFibre has published an interactive map on its website providing full transparency of its build plans.
Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden said:
“Today’s announcement shows how the government’s pro-competition policies are speeding up the delivery of gigabit broadband and helping the telecoms market thrive. “We’re spending a record £5 billion to level up homes and businesses across the UK with gigabit speeds.
With CityFibre’s multi-billion pound investment, we’ll soon be bringing these lightning-fast connections to millions of people outside our major towns and cities.”
Greg Mesch, CEO at CityFibre added:
“Today’s announcement is excellent news for consumers and even better news for Britain. We’re delighted to welcome so many new towns, villages and communities to our Full Fibre rollout programme.
By 2025, our world-class digital infrastructure will be within reach of nearly a third of the UK market, connecting homes, businesses, schools and hospitals, and supporting 5G mobile networks. This is clear proof of the benefits of digital infrastructure competition.
“We have seen huge enthusiasm and early success from our ISP partners, both large and small. Together we’re maximising the potential of a new infrastructure build programme to stimulate demand and drive take-up. Building the network is the first step.
It’s only through the use of this world-class Full Fibre infrastructure that we can derive the maximum benefit for our economic recovery and future success.”
