Glasgow becomes Scotland’s third Gigabit City

City communications

Glasgow becomes Scotland’s third Gigabit City

26 November 2015

CityFibre and launch partner HighNet announce project to transform Glasgow’s digital connectivity

London and Glasgow, 26 November 2015 – Leading network infrastructure provider CityFibre today announces its commitment to build an ultra-fast, pure fibre network in Glasgow, creating Scotland’s third Gigabit City. In partnership with HighNet, a long-established Scottish ISP providing services to thousands of business premises across the UK, CityFibre will commence its deployment in Glasgow city centre early in 2016, with the intention to ultimately deliver the huge benefits of pure fibre connectivity to the whole city. The new Gigabit City fibre network will transform the city’s digital infrastructure, supporting internet connectivity up to 100 times faster than the UK average. The state-of-the-art network will also future-proof the city as the thirst for greater bandwidth continues to grow exponentially, from all sectors, over the coming decades. The first phase of deployment will comprise a dense network build in Glasgow city centre. Amongst the first businesses set to benefit will be HighNet’s channel partner’s customers. Up to 7,000 city centre businesses will be within close reach of the fibre network and within the year, will be able to access a new generation of ultra-fast services through HighNet’s extensive channel partner network. Ultimately up to 15,000 businesses across the city will stand to benefit when the full city-wide roll-out is completed. As with CityFibre’s other Gigabit City projects in Aberdeen, Coventry, Edinburgh, Peterborough and York, the network will be deployed in-line with the company’s ‘Well Planned City’ model. This design approach accommodates current and future capacity requirements from the business community, public sector, mobile operators and datacentre providers. Ultimately, the network could form a backbone for a future deployment of a gigabit-capable fibre-to-the-home access network. Greg Mesch, CityFibre CEO said: “We’re delighted to be partnering with HighNet to launch Scotland’s newest Gigabit City. HighNet have made this project possible and their strong customer base and impressive partner network will be crucial to its success. This announcement marks our third Gigabit City project in Scotland, and upon its completion, CityFibre will have an established network presence in Scotland’s four largest cities, making us the largest wholesale fibre infrastructure provider in the country after BT Openreach."

David J Siegel, Managing Director, HighNet said: “This fantastic collaboration marks a step change in HighNet’s evolution as a Business-to-Business ISP and we are looking forward to providing Glasgow’s business sector with best in class connectivity upon which they can develop and grow their business. Access to high quality, high capacity Internet capability can be truly transformational and we are delighted to be leading the charge in Glasgow. CityFibre’s track record in creating Gigabit cities is unparalleled and we are excited at the opportunities this partnership will create.”

-ENDS-

CityFibre Media Contact: Michael House at FieldHouse Associates michael@fieldhouseassociates.com +44 (0) 7958336475 About CityFibre CityFibre is the largest independent provider of pure fibre optic network infrastructure in the UK. The company designs, builds, owns and operates gigabit speed fibre networks in mid-sized cities and major towns, for the public and private sectors. These networks empower data-hungry users, unleashing unlimited speeds on future-proofed technology and ensure that the UK’s regional centres remain truly open for business in a digital age. With network in 61 UK towns and cities, CityFibre serves a vast array of public sector organisations, service providers and businesses. It has also begun six Gigabit City projects in York, Peterborough, Coventry, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow where city-wide pure fibre networks known as ‘COREs’ bring world-class Internet connectivity and the benefits of gigabit speeds to every aspect of the city’s community. CityFibre is also a proud member of a joint venture with TalkTalk and Sky. Established in early 2014, the collaboration aims to prove the viability of gigabit speed fibre networks and services for the home and business. Work is currently underway to make York the first of these cities, with more set to follow in the near future. At its completion, tens of thousands of homes and businesses in the York will be connected directly to a future-proof modern digital infrastructure. CityFibre is based in London, United Kingdom, and its shares trade on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange (AIM: CFHL). Further information on the company can be found at cityfibre.com About HighNet Founded in 1994, HighNet initially marketed call routing services to customers in the Highlands of Scotland and the company has been expanding its service portfolio and geographical reach ever since. Today, HighNet is Scotland’s leading business communications provider, providing access to a wide range of telecoms services, while always ensuring a high level of service and value for money for its customers. The company’s services are sold through more than 120 channel partners across the country. Further information on the company can be found at www.highnet.com

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