CityFibre pushes forward with Dewsbury’s Full Fibre roll-out

Nearly every home and business in Dewsbury will gain access to next-generation broadband as CityFibre completes the integration of FibreNation projects, following its acquisition in March.

Dewsbury is to benefit from an investment of £40m in its digital future, as part of CityFibre’s plans to replace the nation’s legacy networks with gigabit-capable full fibre connectivity.

The state-of-the-art infrastructure is expected to boost business productivity and innovation, while giving residents access to the UK’s fastest broadband services. The project was formerly led by FibreNation and will now fall under CityFibre’s up to £4 billion Gigabit City Investment Programme that aims to reach up to 8 million premises.

Construction of the network formally began in July 2019 and upon completion, it will be in reach of nearly every home and business in the town, serving current and future demands. It will also provide a platform for a new generation of “smart city” applications and underpin the roll-out of 5G mobile services.

CityFibre’s Stephen Moore will spearhead the delivery of the project. In his role as City Manager, Stephen will be responsible for ensuring the full fibre network is built with minimal disruption, while delivering maximum benefit for the wider community.

Stephen said: “We’re immensely excited to drive forward with our roll-out plan in Dewsbury. We’re making great progress throughout Yorkshire and the long-term importance of reliable, ultrafast speed and limitless capacity broadband for residents and businesses in Dewsbury and North Kirklees cannot be understated.

“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. Full Fibre has a major part to play in the nation’s economic recovery and I’m proud to be playing a part in securing Dewsbury’s digital future.”

Make Happen Group is the build partner helping to deliver the new full fibre network and will be using modern build techniques to deploy the network quickly. The company is following social distancing protocol to ensure the build team’s safety, as well as that of the general public.

Meanwhile, CityFibre will continue to work closely with Kirklees Council and local communities to ensure a fast and successful roll-out. Residents are being kept informed by door-to-door teams and mailings ahead of works commencing in their streets.

The network is not yet live but once activated, services will be available from an increasing range of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to deliver next generation broadband services.

Cllr Shabir Pandor, Leader of Kirklees Council, said: “Kirklees Council is delighted to see CityFibre’s full fibre network rolled out in Kirklees. The Council has a clear vision for North Kirklees, which includes Batley, Birstall, Spen Valley, Dewsbury, Mirfield and other areas, to be well-connected and to support initiatives that will drive economic growth, improve employment prospects and improve the overall experience for those who visit, work and live in the area.

"This will provide great opportunities for everyone to be connected to the best broadband speeds for work, leisure and recreation. We will truly be ahead of many other areas. This announcement, together with the ongoing CityFibre investment across Huddersfield, will place Kirklees in a select group of northern towns to benefit from transformative and future-proof digital connectivity."

If residents are interested in full fibre broadband, they can pre-register their interest with CityFibre to receive information when services are available or check their postcode to see if services are currently available. Visit: cityfibre.com/residential