CityFibre gets to work on Whittlesey's £3m digital transformation

Work to bring full fibre connectivity within reach of almost every home and business in Whittlesey gets underway this week as CityFibre, the UK’s largest independent full fibre platform, breaks ground on a new infrastructure rollout that will future-proof the town’s digital needs for generations to come.

Construction of the £3m town-wide full fibre network has begun in Whittlesey and is being delivered by Granemore Group on behalf of CityFibre. The team will use a range of construction methods while working in close partnership with Cambridgeshire County Council, Fenland District Council and local communities to deliver a fast rollout while managing 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 post ahead of any work starting.

CityFibre has already invested £35m in nearby Peterborough, where more than 67,000 homes – about 85% of the city’s residential properties - can access reliable full fibre internet services from a range of providers. The rollout is also underway in Yaxley and March.

The overall project in Whittlesey is expected to reach completion next year but the first services will go live for people to take advantage of much sooner. As the network is completed in each neighbourhood, CityFibre will designate the homes ‘ready for service’, which means residents can choose to connect to full fibre-enabled broadband services when they go live in their area.

In Whittlesey, 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 as well as TalkTalk, Giganet, IDNet, Zen and other providers. More are expected to join the network soon.

Speaking of the project, Rebecca Stephens, CityFibre’s Regional Partnership Director, said: “We’re so excited to see work getting started on our £3m digital transformation project in Whittlesey. Our full fibre network will equip the town with the capabilities needed to thrive in the digital age – it will see residents enjoy unbeatable streaming at home and unlock ample productivity and innovation benefits for local businesses.

“As our team of builders install the network in Whittlesey, we ask the local community to bear with us and we assure them that any short-term disruption will pay off tremendously in the long-term.”

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 users 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.

Cllr Chris Boden, Leader of Fenland District Council and Town, District and County Councillor for Whittlesey, said: “I’m delighted that CityFibre is investing £3million in Whittlesey, on the back of a successful £5million full fibre investment in March earlier this year. Access to high quality broadband is essential for residents and businesses in this digital age, and a crucial part of stimulating growth and innovation in Fenland, at a time when our district is benefitting from new developments as a result of government investment.”

Steve Barclay, MP for North East Cambridgeshire, added: “I’m delighted that CityFibre is extending its footprint in Fenland and investing another £3million to bring its gigabit-speed full fibre network to Whittlesey. Access to good broadband connectivity plays a major role in boosting local economies, stimulating growth and supporting new services, and will give residents and businesses confidence in the town’s digital capabilities for decades to come.”

CityFibre is bringing full fibre connectivity within reach of up to eight million homes in towns and cities across the UK as part of its nationwide full fibre rollout. Find out more at www.cityfibre.com

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