The rollout of a city-wide Full Fibre network in Gloucester has taken a major leap forward thanks to a new agreement between CityFibre and Gloucester City Homes.
The independent registered housing association owns and manages over 4,600 properties across Gloucester and thanks to this blanket wayleave agreement, CityFibre will connect all of its properties to the new Full Fibre network it is building across the city.
CityFibre is investing £31m to bring the fastest, most reliable digital connectivity to Gloucester and has made swift progress on the city-wide rollout. This new partnership will ensure the project can continue to go ahead smoothly and reach social housing sites as well as other homes and businesses in the area.
Full Fibre networks are recognised as the digital infrastructure of the future for both homes and businesses. With near unlimited bandwidth, Full Fibre will ensure households can utilise the latest smart home technology, stream entertainment across multiple devices and make it easier to work from home, with virtually no buffering or lagging.
Neil Madle, CityFibre’s City Manager for Gloucester said: “This agreement with Gloucester City Homes will help us to take the next step forward in the digital transformation of the city, making it one of the best-connected in the country.Over the last year, our broadband connections have truly been a lifeline as we adapt to new ways of working, socialising, and entertaining. We are looking forward to connecting more and more members of the Gloucester community to our network so they can reap benefits that come with a first-class and future-proof Full Fibre connection.”
Robert Panou, Head of Assets and Development at Gloucester City Homes, said: “I’m excited that through this wayleave agreement, our residents will be among the first to benefit from the world-class digital infrastructure CityFibre is installing across Gloucester. Once live, our tenants will be able to access the fastest, most reliable internet services available in the UK which will meet their digital needs for decades to come.”
Richard Graham, MP for Gloucester, added: “The connectivity CityFibre is bringing to GCH tenants means Gloucester residents will get access to faster broadband earlier than most nearby cities and towns. This is especially good news for those working, job seeking or studying from home and I look forward to seeing the benefits for Britain’s Best Small City.”
As work is completed in each neighbourhood, internet service providers (ISPs) will ‘light up the network’ with some of the fastest and most competitive broadband packages available in terms of both data and price.
Work on Gloucester’s new Full Fibre network kicked off in January of this year, with construction now complete in large parts of Podsmead, Quedgeley and Tuffley. Once the entire build has been completed, almost every home and business in Gloucester will have access to Full Fibre broadband.
In Gloucester, the network is not yet live, but once activated, services will be available from an increasing range of broadband providers. Across the UK, CityFibre is already working with launch partner Vodafone to deliver next generation broadband services, with TalkTalk and other providers expected to join the network soon. Residents interested in giving their home broadband a boost can find out more about the build and pre-register their interest online.
Kier Group is delivering the project on CityFibre’s behalf. The team is working closely with CityFibre and Gloucester City Council to manage any disruption and using modern build techniques to ensure a fast and efficient rollout.
As progress continues, CityFibre is committed to keeping local businesses and residents fully up-to-date on plans for each community, as well as highlighting the benefits that access to Full Fibre will bring to all.
To register your interest in securing a Full Fibre broadband service, visit cityfibre.com/residential
Header image: (Left to right) Robert Panou, Head of Development & Assets, Gloucester City Homes; Neil Madle, CityFibre’s City Manager for Gloucester; Richard Graham, Gloucester MP; Matt Holmes, Wayleave Officer, CityFibre.
