CityFibre breaks ground on Crawley’s £23m digital transformation

Work to transform Crawley into one of the world’s best digitally connected towns is underway.

Crawley is celebrating a major milestone in its digital transformation with work now well underway to build a full fibre network to reach almost every home and business in the town.

CityFibre is investing at least £23m in Crawley to deliver this transformational project, as part of its nationwide plan to replace the country’s ageing copper-based networks with gigabit-capable full fibre connectivity. Upon completion, the network is expected to boost business productivity and innovation, deliver millions in economic benefits, and provide a platform for a new generation of “smart city” applications and the roll-out of 5G mobile services.

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 deliver next generation broadband services, and TalkTalk and other partners are expected to join the network soon.

CityFibre has appointed Adrian Smith as City Manager to spearhead the delivery of the Crawley project, which is now underway in Langley Green. In this role, Adrian will be responsible for ensuring the state-of-the-art full fibre network is implemented with minimal disruption, while delivering maximum benefit for the wider community.

Adrian will be the lead point of contact for all the town’s stakeholders and a key advocate of the wide-ranging benefits that a full fibre network will bring to Crawley’s residents and businesses.

Adrian said: “It’s really exciting to be part of CityFibre’s gigabit revolution – CityFibre is doing everything it can to transform towns and cities across the country. Our digital infrastructure plays a crucial role in growing and protecting local economies, even more so during these unprecedented times when connectivity has proven vital to residents, businesses and public services alike.”

Local contractor Lanes-i is delivering the construction programme on CityFibre’s behalf. The company is using modern build techniques to deploy the network quickly while working closely with CityFibre, Crawley Borough Council and local communities to manage disruption and ensure a fast, successful roll-out. Residents are being kept informed by door-to-door teams and also mailings ahead of works in their streets.

Speaking of the project, David Roberts, Managing Director at Lanes-i, said: “We are pleased to be working on this contract for CityFibre in Crawley. It’s great to be part of an enterprise that transforms communities’ digital experiences, by giving them more reliable, futureproof broadband.”

Councillor Peter Smith, Cabinet member for Planning and Economic Development at Crawley Borough Council, added: “When our public service network investment is placed alongside CityFibre’s private Fibre to the Home and Business project, it demonstrates the desire of all concerned to deliver a world-class digital infrastructure for Crawley, ahead of many other places.

“This transformation will give Crawley businesses a competitive advantage while providing residents gigabit speeds directly into their home.”

Full fibre is currently available to around 16 per cent of premises across the UK. It is considered to be the best in connectivity for its speed, near unlimited bandwidth and reliability. By using fibre optic cables for every stage of the connection from the customer’s home or business to the internet, users will be offered a significantly superior and more reliable broadband service, capable of Gigabit speeds (1,000 Mbps).

If residents are interested in full fibre broadband, they can pre-register interest with CityFibre and will receive information when services are available.

To pre-register interest, visit www.cityfibre.com/residential