CityFibre lights the way towards Blackpool’s Full Fibre future

Nearly every home and business in Blackpool will gain access to next-generation broadband thanks to a major investment by CityFibre.

Blackpool is to benefit from an investment of £60m in its digital future, as part of CityFibre’s plans to upgrade the nation’s legacy networks with gigabit-capable full fibre connectivity.

The state-of-the-art infrastructure, which complements the Blackpool & Fylde Coast FFN, is expected to boost business productivity and innovation and deliver millions in economic benefits for Blackpool, while giving residents access to the UK’s fastest broadband services.

Detailed planning is already underway as CityFibre, the UK’s third national infrastructure platform, designs a network capable of serving Blackpool’s current and future demands. Upon completion, the network will be in reach of nearly every home and business in the town and will provide a platform for a new generation of “smart city” applications, as well as the roll-out of 5G mobile services.

CityFibre has appointed Steve Thorpe as City Manager to spearhead delivery of the Blackpool project, which is due to commence in April, with work expected to be completed by 2025. In this role, Steve 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.

Steve 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 Blackpool’s residents and businesses.

Steve said: “CityFibre is making major strides in the North West when it comes to enabling towns and cities with gigabit-capable broadband and Blackpool is next in line to reap the benefits of this transformative technology.

“As we’ve all seen over the past year, digital technology is increasingly important for maintaining connections. Full Fibre will not only help make that simpler than ever, but it will also support smart home technology and allow people to work from home with ease. We must also turn our attention to digital connectivity’s pivotal role in growing and protecting the local economy and businesses as we navigate our way through the on-going pandemic.”

Cllr Lynn Williams, Leader at Blackpool Council said: “The Council welcomes this significant investment by CityFibre which alongside existing and ongoing investments led by the council will help Blackpool on its way to achieving full coverage of fibre to every home and business.

“Our unique collaborative approach means we can work with CityFibre to build on and compliment the investments being made into fibre in Blackpool.

“The council’s intention is to make Blackpool better for all those that live and work here. I hope that this, along with the other investments the council and its partners are making in the town will ultimately create more opportunities and jobs for local people.”

Currently, fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) is available to less than 20 per cent of premises across the UK. It is revered as 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).

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 is expected to join the network soon.

Visit www.cityfibre.com to check your availability and register your interest in a full fibre broadband service.