CityFibre breaks new ground with £30m Full Fibre investment

Work to bring Full Fibre connectivity within reach of almost every home and business in Rochdale gets underway as CityFibre, the UK’s largest independent carrier-neutral Full Fibre platform, breaks ground on a new infrastructure rollout that will future-proof the town’s digital needs for generations to come.

Construction of the £30m town-wide Full Fibre network has begun in Rochdale and is being delivered by Network PLUS on behalf of CityFibre. The team will use a range of construction methods while working in close partnership with Rochdale Borough Council and local communities to deliver a fast rollout while managing potential disruption.

Each area will usually take a few weeks to complete, however, construction teams will typically only be outside each home for two to three days and CityFibre will be in touch by post ahead of any work starting.

The overall project is expected to reach completion by 2024 but the first services will go live for people to take advantage of much sooner. As the network is completed in each neighbourhood, CityFibre will designate the homes ‘ready for service’, which means residents can choose to connect to Full Fibre-enabled broadband services when they go live in their area.

Internet service providers including Zen, Vodafone, and TalkTalk will be available to customers with others expected to join the network soon.

Speaking of the project, Steve Thorpe, CityFibre’s Area Manager for Rochdale, said: This is an exciting time for both CityFibre and Rochdale as work on the new Full Fibre network starts today. Once our network is built, residents and businesses will be able to access the best possible digital connectivity. A contributing factor to the growth of Rochdale is using the opportunities that digital innovation and transformation provides. People can take advantage of those new digital technologies and better their lives. It’s important to remember that any short-term disruption will pay off tremendously in the long-term – once the network’s built, it will serve the community’s connectivity needs for decades to come.”

Full Fibre networks, unlike many of the copper-based ‘fibre broadband’ services available today, use 100% fibre optic cables to carry data at light speed all the way from the home to the point of connection. This gives users speeds of up to 1,000 Mbps for upload and download, near limitless bandwidth and connectivity users can depend on.

A Full Fibre connection also goes far beyond simply enabling access to the latest entertainment at lightning speed. As an essential digital utility, Full Fibre boosts households and businesses alike, with experts saying it will drive a range of economic benefits, such as making us more productive and innovative.

Councillor Neil Emmott, Leader at Rochdale Borough Council, said: “CityFibre’s delivery of its £30m infrastructure investment programme in Rochdale is a once in a generation upgrade that will bring many benefits to the town’s residents, businesses, and services. Future proofing Rochdale’s digital infrastructure is a priority, especially during a time when connectivity is central to the way we live and work. Knowing that Rochdale is ready for the digital age will hopefully unlock an enthusiasm in the residents to take full advantage of the services rollout over the coming months, so they too can level up, similarly to other parts of the UK involved in the investment.”

CT Bureau