Alternative network UK ISP County Broadband, which last year raised £46 million in investment to help it roll-out a new 1Gbps Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network across the rural East of England region, has begun the next phase of their build to cover 30 additional villages.
So far the provider has already begun their demand-led ultrafast broadband network build in several communities around rural Essex (here) and on top of that they’ve also been busy trying to identify villages in South Norfolk (including Breckland), where they could extend their network (here). Assuming all goes to plan then the ISP might eventually cover 30,000 premises across the East of England region.
As part of the aforementioned effort we’ve today been informed that a further 30 villages will make up the next phase of their “full fibre” rollout and most of these can be found within the Colchester, Chelmsford and Braintree areas.
The first villages on this list include Eight Ash Green and Dale Close, both near Colchester, where construction work has already started. Other villages set to benefit from the rollout over the coming weeks include Aldham, Wakes Colne, Chappel, Fordham and Mount Bures.
Lesley Scott-Boutell, Councillor for Dale Close in Stanway, said:
“People increasingly rely on ever faster broadband but unfortunately some areas are often left behind when it comes to their digital connectivity.
This new full fibre network will provide a real boost to residents and businesses and will play an important role in the long-term prosperity of these local communities.”
Lloyd Felton, CEO of County Broadband, said:
“We are very excited to welcome these villages to be at the leading edge of bringing full fibre broadband into their homes and help to make rural Essex a flagbearer for world-class connectivity.
Building next-generation full fibre broadband is vital for rural residents, businesses and economies to thrive in our digitally connected world. By joining our network, we believe residents and businesses have made a wise investment in their long-term prosperity by getting future ready.”
The new networks across these villages are all set to be fully operational by “early” 2020. More villages are also expected to be announced to be built by Christmas, with 140 in total being targeted across Essex and Norfolk. The roll-out is funded by a private investment from Aviva Investors and is not dependent upon any public money.
County Broadband, which also provides a wireless internet service, was established in Aldham, Essex, in 2003, and currently has over 3,000 customers across East Anglia. Prices for their broadband packages tend to start at £20 per month for 300Mbps (then £40 after the first 6 months or you can drop back to a 50Mbps tier and stay at £20) and £27.50 for 600Mbps (then £55 after the first 6 months).
At present the network appears to use GPON technology from Altice, although in the future they may adopt NG-PON or XGS-PON as demand requires.