CityFibre Complete Primary FTTP Broadband Build in Wellingborough

Network operator CityFibre, which has so far extended their gigabit speed Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP network to cover 3.6 million UK premises (3.3m RFS), have today confirmed the completion of their “primary” £14m build in the large market and commuter town of Wellingborough, North Northamptonshire (England).

The original “town-wide” network deployment, which aimed to reach “almost every home and business” in the area, first entered the construction phase toward the end of 2022 and has now covered “over” 20,000 homes (RFS) or “about 82% of residential properties and most businesses in the town“. The work involved the laying of over 136km of dense full fibre infrastructure across the town.

However, while the primary-build is said to now be completed, the operator added that they would still “continue to explore opportunities to reach more sites including new build properties, multi-dwelling units, homes on private or unadopted roads and business parks.”

The catch is that CityFibre aren’t the only gigabit-capable network in town. Virgin Media’s network already covers the vast majority of premises, while Openreach are extending their own FTTP lines. On top of that, a number of alternative networks also have limited full fibre deployments in the town (e.g. Hyperoptic and OFNL, while Gigaclear is present nearby).

Charles Kitchin, CityFibre’s Partnership Manager for Wellingborough, said:

“The rollout of our full fibre network and completion of our primary-build in Wellingborough is excellent progress. This will provide a significant boost to the local economy, making the town one of the best-connected places in the country as it benefits from faster and more reliable broadband. Residents can now enjoy seamless streaming, even when using multiple devices at once, with ample productivity and innovation benefits.”

The work also supports CityFibre’s wider ambition of covering up to 8 million UK premises (funded by c.£2.4bn in equity, c.£4.9bn debt and c.£800m of BDUK subsidy) – across over 285 cities, towns and villages (c.30% of the UK), although it’s unclear precisely when they will achieve that (the original goal was for the end of 2025, but their current build + M&A plan may only get them to c.6m).