CityFibre switches on Milton Keynes to gigabit and names Edinburgh infrastructure lead

After a surge in full-fibre of deployments across the UK reaching in excess of three million homes and representing the fruits of more than £1.5bn in private investment, UK broadband provider CityFibre has maintained its pace of deployment by extending its build footprint for Milton Keynes, and has named Paul Wakefield to lead its build of a digital infrastructure across Edinburgh.

Milton Keynes was the first city in the UK to benefit from CityFibre’s Gigabit City Investment Programme, which will see full fibre infrastructure rolled out to eight million premises by 2025.

CityFibre said that it is enabling thousands more residents in the Buckinghamshire new town to access its full-fibre network and high-speed broadband services. A multimillion-pound investment will see a further 7,000 homes added to the initial £40m project, which got underway in early 2018 and was substantially completed at the end of last year.

The company said that there is increasing demand for full fibre in Milton Keynes, with more than 80% of homes now able to access the gigabit-speed technology. CityFibre’s full network is available to thousands of people across large parts of the city, with connections being delivered via launch partner Vodafone’s Gigafast Broadband service, with packages also available from Fibrehop and TalkTalk.

Granemore Group will continue to deliver phase two of the project on CityFibre’s behalf. The team will continue to work closely with CityFibre and Milton Keynes Council to manage any disruption and use what they say will be modern build techniques to ensure a fast and efficient roll-out.

“I’m delighted that we are able to build a second phase here in Milton Keynes to follow on from our original £40m investment,” said Jean Gowin, CityFibre’s city manager for Milton Keynes.

“This will mean extending our full-fibre network to include even more homes, ensuring Milton Keynes remains one of the leading and best-connected cities in the UK. Resident experience from those already connected and enjoying gigabit speeds has fuelled a huge demand for even more full fibre across the city, and we’re now working quickly to ensure additional premises can also benefit from connecting to our network later this year.”

North of the border, CityFibre’s new lead Paul Wakefield will spearhead a full-fibre roll-out with a £100m investment set to support the Scottish capital’s Smart City ambitions. As city manager, Wakefield will be the main point of contact between stakeholders and the CityFibre team, ensuring the project continues to be implemented with minimal disruption to Edinburgh communities.

“While any project of this scale isn’t without its challenges, the benefits of full fibre are immense and will give Edinburgh the ability to become one of the world’s leading smart cities,” he said. “It is already proving a game-changer for households and businesses that are connected to the network, and it’s our mission to ensure that as many people across Edinburgh can access the technology.”

Construction work has already been completed in several areas across Edinburgh, including Restalrig, Liberton, and Inch. The connections in these areas are being delivered via launch partner Vodafone’s Gigafast Broadband service, and TalkTalk is expected to join the network soon. Work is also currently taking place in South Gyle and Carricknowe areas and is being delivered by contractors Glenevin and Topspec.