CityFibre To Build Glasgow FTTP Network

CityFibre is to build a fibre to the premise (FTTP) network in Glasgow with the intention of eventually connecting 15,000 businesses to speeds of 1Gbps.

The company is partnering with Scottish ISP HighNet on the project, which will connect the first premises in early 2016, with the first phase involving the creation of a high density network in the city centre.

CityFibre CEO Greg Mesch says the project will mean his firm becomes the second largest wholesaler in fibre in Scotland after BT Openreach. The firm already has networks in Aberdeen and in the capital Edinburgh, where it recently announced plans to lay an additional 100km of fibre.

CityFibre Glasgow

“This announcement marks our third Gigabit City project in Scotland, and upon its completion, CityFibre will have an established network presence in Scotland’s four largest cities, he said.

“This fantastic collaboration marks a step change in HighNet’s evolution as a Business-to-Business ISP and we are looking forward to providing Glasgow’s business sector with best in class connectivity upon which they can develop and grow their business,” added David Siegel, managing director of HighNet.

CityFibre also operates Gigabit networks in a number of other UK cities, including Peterborough, Coventry and York – the latter of which is a pilot for a joint-venture between the company, Sky and TalkTalk to develop an alternative to BT Openreach in towns and cities

The majority of the UK’s fibre infrastructure is based on the Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) technology, which uses copper for the final few hundred metres of the connection, slowing down speeds. However it is hoped that the deployment of G.Fast will allow for 500Mbps – 1Gbps to be delivered over copper in the near future.

Gigaclear, another FTTP provider, recently announced plans to offer 5Gbps to rural properties connected to its networks.

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