12 December, 2024: CityFibre, the UK’s largest independent full fibre platform, has connected the first ‘Project Gigabit’ customers in Suffolk to its network. More than 80,000 homes and businesses across rural or hard-to-reach areas of Suffolk are being connected to CityFibre’s next generation, full fibre broadband network as part of the government’s Project Gigabit.
The rollout in Suffolk was made possible by the £100m Project Gigabit award to CityFibre. Project Gigabit is the government-funded programme enabling hard-to-reach communities access fast, reliable gigabit-capable broadband, reaching parts of the UK that might otherwise miss out on upgrades to next-generation speeds.
CityFibre is also contributing its own investment to deliver the project and reach even more homes and businesses in the area. CityFibre’s ‘Project Gigabit’ rollouts are part of the company’s commitment to reach at least 8 million premises nationwide.
Among the first customers in Suffolk to sign up to full fibre broadband is David Henderson from Dukes Park. David runs his smart devices business predominantly from home, which can often include the transfer of large, multi-gigabit files to and from suppliers around the world, and he is now making the most of 900Mbps speeds from No One Internet, a consumer and business broadband provider available on CityFibre’s wholesale network. David’s download speeds have jumped from around 13Mbps to up to 900Mbps and his home is now free from buffering, no matter how many of his family are online and streaming at the same time. All for less than his previous broadband bill.
“Woodbridge has tended to be left behind digitally so I was pleased to see that we’d be getting full fibre, I kept a close eye on when it would be available in my road and ordered as soon as I could,” says David. “The installation went smoothly, and all concerned did a great job.”
Cllr. Ruth Leach, Suffolk County Councillor for Woodbridge, said: “The rollout of the CityFibre network was a huge project in Woodbridge which has been carried out very efficiently, with any challenges speedily resolved through excellent communication and a very quick response from the CityFibre team. People’s patience has been rewarded with the new broadband capacity and lightning-fast download times which will benefit both business and residents.”
Simon Holden, Group Chief Operations Officer at CityFibre, said: “Bringing our network to hard-to-reach areas in Suffolk will bring a new era of connectivity to people across the region. CityFibre’s ultrafast and ultra-reliable full fibre network will help residents and businesses make the most of being online and it’s exciting to see how full fibre will supercharge Suffolk for years to come.”
Funded by Building Digital UK (BDUK), Project Gigabit enables rural areas across the country to access reliable full fibre broadband, bringing ultrafast connectivity to homes and businesses that may have otherwise missed out.
Residents and businesses in Project Gigabit areas will have access to full fibre broadband for the first time and CityFibre’s rollout in Suffolk marks the sixth of nine Project Gigabit delivery contracts secured by CityFibre1, with customers in Suffolk joining the first customers already online in Cambridge and Norfolk2.
The connections in Suffolk mark an important milestone for CityFibre, which is rolling out its 10Gbps-capable full fibre network to over 1.3m premises in Project Gigabit areas, both subsidised premises and through additional CityFibre investment
CityFibre’s ‘Project Gigabit’ rollouts are part of part of the company’s commitment to reach at least 8 million premises nationwide.
Those wanting to sign up to the CityFibre network can see when services are available in their area by using the postcode checker at www.cityfibre.com.
ENDS
Notes to editors
On 12 November 2024, CityFibre held an event to celebrate the first connected customers on the BDUK Suffolk network. Woodbridge Town Mayor, Cllr Robin Sanders, was in attendance along with County Councillors Ruth Leach and Alexander Nicoll, representatives from BDUK and first customer David Henderson.
1 The nine Project Gigabit Lots won by CityFibre are:
- Cambridgeshire
- Norfolk
- Suffolk
- Hampshire
- Leicestershire and Warwickshire
- East and West Sussex
- Kent
- Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes
- East Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire
2 First customer in connected to CityFibre’s ‘Project Gigabit’ network with Vodafone’s new 2.2Gbps broadband service (8 July 2024)
First ‘Project Gigabit’ customers in Norfolk connect to ultrafast full fibre (30 September 2024)
About CityFibre
CityFibre is the UK’s largest independent full fibre infrastructure platform, providing carrier-neutral digital infrastructure to its wholesale customers and enabling ultra-fast, reliable and futureproof broadband, Ethernet and 5G services to homes and businesses as well as schools, hospitals and GP surgeries. CityFibre’s full fibre network rollout targets at least a third of the UK market: more than 8 million premises.
As the UK’s most intelligent fibre network, CityFibre is trusted by major Internet Service Providers and mobile operators including TalkTalk, Three, Vodafone and Zen as well as a new generation of smaller regional ISPs dedicated to delivering full fibre broadband. In August 2024, Sky and CityFibre announced a long-term partnership that will see Sky launch broadband services on the CityFibre network.
CityFibre is based in London and is owned by funds managed by Antin Infrastructure Partners, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Mubadala Investment Company, Interogo Holding and Newlight Partners.
Project Gigabit
Project Gigabit is the UK government’s rollout of lightning-fast, reliable broadband across the UK. The programme targets homes and businesses that are not included in broadband companies’ commercial plans, reaching parts of the country that would otherwise miss out.
To date, CityFibre has secured nine Project Gigabit contracts, totalling over £782m in government subsidies to serve more than 464,000 hard to reach rural homes and businesses in Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Hampshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Berkshire, Leicestershire, Warwickshire, Sussex, Kent, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire & Milton Keynes. Alongside co-investment from CityFibre, the awards have unlocked almost £1.2bn in combined public and private investment in rural broadband.
By the end of 2025, the government is targeting 85% of the UK to have gigabit-capable connectivity, and then nationwide coverage by 2030.
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