Reading becomes one of the UK's best connected towns as CityFibre's Primary-Build completes

CityFibre, the UK’s largest independent full fibre network, has completed the primary-build of its full fibre network in Reading. The new network is now 'ready for service’ to over 97,000 homes, covering around 98% of homes and most businesses in Reading and the surrounding areas. Reading is the latest town in CityFibre’s nationwide rollout, making it one of the best-connected locations in the country.

Construction began on the £58m project in 2020 and CityFibre has since laid around 1,230km of dense full fibre infrastructure across the town, which is almost the equivalent of 12,000 lengths of Reading FC’s pitch. While the primary-build is now complete, CityFibre will continue to explore opportunities to connect more homes and businesses, including flats, new-build homes, business parks and homes on private roads.

Full fibre networks use 100% fibre optics to carry data at light-speed all the way to and from the home and are more than five times more reliable than legacy copper-based broadband.ⁱ CityFibre’s network offers download and upload speeds of up to 2.5Gbps and is capable of supporting symmetrical speeds of up to 10Gbps in the future. That is over 36 times faster than the UK’s average download speeds of 69.4Mbps and more than 136 times faster than the UK’s average upload speed of 18.4Mbps.ⁱⁱ

Residents in Reading can enjoy affordable, gigabit-capable and reliable full fibre broadband from a range of internet service providers (ISPs) including Vodafone, TalkTalk, Giganet and Zen, with other providers expected to join the network soon. All homes passed by the network can schedule a full fibre installation within five working days of placing an order.

Neil Madle, Partnership Manager at CityFibre, said: “Thriving towns like Reading stand to gain significantly from next-generation digital infrastructure, unlocking new growth and opportunities. Connectivity continues to play a vital role for residents, businesses and public services. With our full fibre network, Reading will enhance its resilience and futureproof its infrastructure, creating value for residents and businesses alike."

People interested in upgrading their home’s digital connection to full fibre can find out more here.