Vodafone-CityFibre partnership continues FTTP expansions

Thanks to the Vodafone-CityFibre partnership, Cambridge, Leeds and Southend-on-Sea will be provided access to the ultrafast fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) broadband service.

There are plans to roll out the services to Coventry, Edinburgh, Huddersfield and Stirling in April next year. Construction is currently underway in Aberdeen, Milton Keynes and Peterborough.

Southend-on-Sea’s cabinet member for infrastructure, Andrew Moring, said: “This inward investment will help us attract business, help develop our emerging creative and tech sector, and encourage hundreds of business startups.

“With this extension of the project, the full benefits will soon be felt by everyone who lives and works here.”

With the roll out of the service from Stirling to Southend-on-Sea and onwards, it is anticipated that one million homes will reap the benefits of this ultrafast technology.

This brings the total number of towns and cities with FTTP broadband service to 10 and showcases a committed infrastructure investment of over £465 million.

Leader of Cambridge City Council, Lewis Herbert, commented: “CityFibre has made a major difference to cities by similar investment across the UK, and we welcome them to Cambridge and the major extra investment they are bringing.”

The partnership between Vodafone and CityFibre started in November 2017 when Vodafone was given exclusive rights to run CityFibre’s consumer broadband network.

CEO of CityFibre, Greg Mesch, said: “Our roll-out is gathering pace. We have made investment commitments that will transform the digital capabilities of 10 towns and cities forever.

"The full-fibre age is taking hold across the UK, and CityFibre is leading the charge. Britain should prepare for a copper-to-fibre switchover as this ageing technology cannot keep up with the UK’s connectivity needs.”

Both Vodafone and CityFibre have been working together with local authorities to continue the expansion of access to FTTP for towns and cities across the country. The aim of the partnership is to bring full-fibre service to one million UK homes and businesses by 2021.