Bournemouth’s digital future to be transformed by £35m full fibre roll-out

Register your interest in Vodafone Gigafast broadband services Nearly every home and business in Bournemouth to have access to next-generation broadband thanks to major Gigabit City investment. Bournemouth is set to benefit from a major investment of £35m in its digital future, as part of CityFibre plans to replace the nation’s legacy copper-based networks with gigabit-capable full fibre connectivity. This future-proof infrastructure is expected to boost productivity and innovation, and deliver millions in economic benefits for the town, while also giving residents access to the UK’s fastest broadband services. Detailed planning is already underway as CityFibre designs a network capable of serving all the current and future digital demands of the town. On completion, the state-of-the-art network will reach nearly every home and business. It will also provide a platform for a new generation of smart city applications and backbone to support a future roll out of 5G mobile services. CityFibre is working closely with Bournemouth City Council to maximise the benefits of the roll-out. CityFibre already owns a substantial full fibre network in the town that reaches approximately 21,000 homes. Work is underway to align it with CityFibre’s national network architecture before being activated for service. Expansion of the network to other parts of the town is due to begin in late summer this year with Vodafone Gigafast broadband services set to go live soon afterwards. CityFibre also announced today that Northampton would be joining the national roll-out. Alongside ten previously announced towns and cities, Bournemouth and Northampton mark more than one million homes identified for CityFibre’s full fibre roll-out. Network build is underway in seven cities and customers are already receiving Vodafone’s Gigafast broadband services in four of those. At present, full fibre is currently only available to 6% of UK properties. By using fibre optic cables for every stage of the connection from the customer’s home or business to the internet, users are offered a significantly superior and more reliable broadband service, with download speeds 20 times faster and upload speeds 150 times faster than the average fixed broadband connection in the UK. Greg Mesch, CEO at CityFibre, said: “At CityFibre we are leading the charge to switch over the UK from the copper wires of the past to the fibre of the future. Full fibre is the only infrastructure fit to power our economy in the digital age. “With the addition of Bournemouth and Northampton to our previously announced Gigabit City projects, we have now identified over 1 million UK homes that will benefit from world-class connectivity. Our roll-outs are gathering momentum and we’re now focusing on selecting the next wave of cities in the programme.” Neil Blagden, Director of Digital & Commercial Operations at Vodafone UK, said: “Full fibre can help fuel everything from hi-tech businesses to connected classrooms and buffer-free households. It will boost the local economies and improve people’s lives. We look forward to bringing the benefits of Vodafone Gigafast Broadband to residents and businesses in Bournemouth and Northampton later this year.” Councillor John Beesley, Leader of Bournemouth Council, said: “Bournemouth is firmly established as a thriving digital town with a world-leading digital sector. An investment of this size strengthens our position of becoming a first-class, smart and connected digital place supporting the future needs of businesses and residents. “We shall be working closely with CityFibre to ensure the roll out programme is as smooth as possible and that everyone is kept fully up-to-date with their plans.” To find out more about CityFibre and its Fibre-to-the-Premises roll-out, visit www.cityfibre.com/residential To register your interest in Vodafone’s Gigafast Broadband services, visit www.vodafone.co.uk/gigafast