CityFibre begins Newcastle broadband rollout

CityFibre has confirmed that it has begun its rollout of a new 1Gbps Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network across the city of Newcastle.

The rollout is expected to cost around £50 million and forms part of Phase 2 of CityFibre’s broader £2.5 billion investment plan. Through this plan, CityFibre aims to connect 1 million UK homes across 12 towns and cities to “full fibre” broadband by the close of 2021 (under Phase 1), and then connecting a further 5 million premises across 60 towns and cities by the end of 2025 (under Phase 2).

Work in Newcastle has begun in the North Western areas of Kenton and Blakelow. The project is expected to take around 3-4 years to complete.

The fibre-optic upgrade will see connectivity in the city become around 70-times faster than the current average speed. Kenton ward councillor Stephen Lambert commented: "This is hi-tech stuff and warmly welcomed by our residents. This programme to accelerate the delivery of fast, reliable and secure broadband networks to over 10,000 homes is brilliant.”

"The full-fibre broadband will also benefit hard-to-reach streets near Kenton Dene – one of the highest landmarks in the city. We’ve long argued that funding and support to bridge the connectivity gap so that outer city communities are not left behind.”

“Poor digital connectivity threatens the future success and prosperity of urban neighbourhoods. This programme addresses this in full and we’re delighted this will be rolled across the whole of the city.”

CityFibre City Manager for Newcastle Jason Legget said: We are supporting the city by making our investment in infrastructure. We don’t just go into economic hotspots or for people who have a lot of disposable income. We are making sure there is parity for everyone – whether you are rich or poor, digitally-savvy or not.”

Legget added that CityFibre’s focus was “now on making sure we get the whole city covered as quickly as possible.”