CityFibre gets to work on future-proofing Middlesbrough’s digital foundations with £42m Full Fibre investment

Work to bring full fibre connectivity within reach of almost every home and business in Middlesbrough is now underway.

CityFibre, the UK’s largest independent full fibre platform, has broken ground on a new infrastructure roll out that will future-proof the town’s digital needs for generations to come.

Construction of the £42m town-wide full fibre network has begun in Brambles Farm and Thorntree and is being delivered by Map Group (UK) on behalf of CityFibre.

The team will use a range of construction methods while working in close partnership with Middlesbrough Council and local communities to deliver a fast rollout, while minimising potential disruption.

Each area will usually take 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 2024 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.

In Middlesbrough, 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.

Residents interested in giving their home broadband a boost can find out more about the build and register their interest at www.cityfibre.com/PR-Register.

Speaking of the project, Steph Carter-Smith, CityFibre’s City Manager for Middlesbrough, said: “I’m immensely excited and proud to see work getting underway in Middlesbrough today. This is the start of an exciting new chapter for Middlesbrough as it gets ready to thrive in the digital age.

“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.”

Full fibre networks, unlike many of the copper-based ‘fibre broadband’ services available today, use 100% fibre optic cables to carry data at light speed all the way from the home to the point of connection. This gives users speeds of up to 1,000 Mbps for upload and download, near limitless bandwidth and connectivity they can depend on.

A full fibre connection also goes far beyond simply enabling access to the latest entertainment at lightning speed. As an essential digital utility, full fibre boosts households and businesses alike, with experts saying it will drive a range of economic benefits, such as making us more productive and innovative.

Middlesbrough Mayor, Andy Preston, added: “This is fantastic news that marks the start of a great leap forward for Middlesbrough. We’ve all relied on digital comms over the last year more than ever before, and this state-of the-art network is taking us to the next level.

“The incredible broadband speeds it will deliver are a once-in-a-generation boost to residents, businesses and services, and one that will bring with it long-term prosperity and jobs.”

CityFibre is bringing full fibre connectivity within reach of up to 8 million homes in towns and cities across the UK as part of its up to £4 billion Gigabit City Investment Programme. Find out more at www.cityfibre.com