Vodafone UK and CityFibre, the UK’s largest alternative provider of wholesale fibre network infrastructure, have identified the next wave of towns and cities to benefit from a roll-out of ultra-fast, Gigabit-capable full fibre broadband.
Both companies have signed a £500m deal last November, giving Vodafone exclusive rights to run consumer broadband services across CityFibre's full-fibre network which could connect up to 5 million premises over the next eight years.
The UK cities of Edinburgh, Coventry, Huddersfield and Stirling will next to be covered via the joint deployment to roll out the full fibre broadband network. Alongside those cities already announced: Milton Keynes, Peterborough and Aberdeen, this brings the total number of homes and businesses identified to date to over half a million premises across seven cities. It also brings CityFibre’s committed infrastructure investment in the project to at least £315 million.
Detailed city-wide planning is already underway and CityFibre said it is working closely with each local authority to co-ordinate the build and maximise the benefits of full fibre to each city.
Construction work has already started in Milton Keynes just five months after Vodafone and CityFibre first announced their strategic partnership to deliver full fibre to at least 1 million UK homes and businesses. Construction is set to begin in subsequent cities in the coming months.
Nick Jeffery, CEO, Vodafone UK
I’m delighted to welcome everyone living in Coventry, Edinburgh, Huddersfield and Stirling to the full fibre club, with a broadband service like no other. After five months we are well on track with the joint Gigafast broadband programme that will help position the UK as a world leading digital centre.
Greg Mesch, CEO, CityFibre
Behind each city project announced today, lie concrete plans, advanced network designs, and the resources to mobilise construction. We also have a significant head-start, harnessing our existing, extensive duct infrastructure that is tailor-made for city-wide FTTP expansion.
