CityFibre rolls out to Cheltenham
Details
Faye Sutton
| 10 May 2021
CityFibre, the UK’s largest independent full fibre platform, has broken ground on a new infrastructure rollout in Cheltenham.
CityFibre Cheltenham 10 may 2021

Construction of the £30 million full-fibre network has begun in Alstone and is being delivered by Kier Group on behalf of CityFibre. The team will use a range of construction methods, while working in close partnership with Cheltenham Borough Council and local communities to deliver a fast rollout while minimising potential disruption.

Each area will usually take just a few weeks to complete; however, construction teams will typically only be outside each home for two to three days and CityFibre will be in touch by mail ahead of any work starting.

The overall project is expected to reach completion by the end of 2023 but the first services will go live for people to take advantage of much sooner. As the network is completed in each neighbourhood, internet service providers (ISPs) will ‘light them up’ with some of the fastest and best value broadband packages available in the country.

The network is not yet live, but once activated, services will be available from an increasing range of broadband providers. Across the UK, CityFibre is already working with launch partner Vodafone to supply full-fibre infrastructure for customers on selected Vodafone Pro Broadband plans, while TalkTalk and other providers are expected to join the network in the future.

Neil Madle (pictured left), CityFibre’s City Manager for Cheltenham, said: “This is the start of an exciting new chapter for the town as it gets ready to thrive in the digital age. As the UK’s first dedicated hub supporting the growth and development of cyber security businesses, technology, research and skills, Cheltenham needs the fast, reliable and future-proofed digital connectivity that only full fibre infrastructure can provide if it’s to fully realise its Cyber Central ambitions.

“It’s important to remember that any short-term disruption will pay off tremendously in the long-term - once the network’s built, it will serve the community’s connectivity needs for decades to come.”