New 1Gbps FTTH service planned for Isle of Wight
A £35 million project to bring ultrafast Gigabit-capable FTTH broadband to the Isle of Wight’s businesses and homes has been agreed, with completion pencilled in for 2022.
A collaboration between cable ISP WightFibre and Infracapital aims to cover the majority of the island’s 61,000 homes with improved broadband services. At present, WightFibre offers homes and businesses speeds of up to 152Mbps via its existing cable (DOCSIS) hybrid fibre coax network.
After successful trials of gigabit-capable FTTH/P technology throughout 2016 and 2017, however, the operator said it would be moving ahead with its Gigabit Island plans, with a rollout scheduled for mid-2108.
WightFibre has confirmed that it aims to reach “all the main towns and villages on the island” by 2021, with Cowes and Newport the first settlements scheduled to receive upgraded services. A pilot deployment scheme will begin in Gurnard Pines this summer, followed by the Staplers area of newport.
At present, Openreach’s recent “up to” 80Mbps FTTC service is the best the island has to offer. The network was built with state aid in 2016 and gave the Isle of Wight “99 per cent broadband coverage”, a scheme about which WightFibre has always had strong objections.
WightFibre will begin laying fibre optic cables to deliver its broadband to around 400 homes and businesses during April and May 2018, with many more to follow.
The firm’s CEO, John Irvine, said: “The WightFibre Gigabit Island project is a major undertaking which requires some very specialist knowledge – knowledge of the latest civil engineering cable laying technology and of current fibre-optic networking technologies – essential in order to truly future-proof our network.
“We have been really fortunate to find much of this knowledge and expertise right here on the island.”
Indeed, the operator has announced the appointment of several Isle of Wight natives to support this new expansion. Steve Cooper, a veteran of the island’s construction industry, has come on as director to oversee the new rollout, and will be supported by David Winfield, the firm’s new Programme Director.
