Network owner Digital Infrastructure and its ISP BeFibre, are ploughing on with their next-generation full-fibre roll-out, having announced the next nine areas on the forward plan.
The alt-net hit the headlines back in December 2021, when it unveiled that it had access to £100m of private investment to support its goal to deliver FTTP connectivity to 80 towns and cities – and 1,000,000 properties – by 2027.
Homes are already ready for service in Brentwood, with Worcester, Clacton on Sea, Crewe and Nantwich also imminent. Utilising OpenReach’s Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA), engineers have already started to deploy the network to these new sites in February.
Now Oundle, Maltby, Dinnington, Hyde, Hattersley, Heysham, Skelmersdale, and parts of Rotherham and Lancaster, are the latest locations to be revealed on the ambitious roadmap.
When teams move into these areas, BeFibre will then engage with the local community to provide one of four broadband packages with speeds of up to 900Mbps. The fastest equates to the ability to upload the equivalent of 100 Instagram photos in 5 seconds, download a 1-hour TV programme in 7 seconds, 500 Spotify songs in 25 seconds, or an entire new-release PS5 game in only 14 minutes, for example – all without any buffering worries when trying to work efficiently from home.
“We embarked on our journey to future-proof the UK’s connectivity in January 2021, and things are really gathering momentum,” commented CEO Charlie Ruddy, who has 30 years’ experience in the telecommunications industry. “We’re providing local communities with a fit-for-the-future infrastructure that delivers the guaranteed speeds people need now and for years to come. This is a brand-new network that will leave a positive legacy in society.
“We’re also not afraid to stand up and talk about why things need to change in this market – in terms of speed, customer service and reliability, this is broadband as it should be.”
Up to 500 engineering and white-collar jobs will be created to support the growth of both organisations and the business supply chain, by the end of 2022.
