CityFibre To Provide Gigabit Fibre To Local Government Over PSN

Local authorities in the UK will be able to access gigabit broadband over the government’s Public Services Network (PSN) for the first time, after CityFibre agreed to a deal to open its fibre to managed service provider EasyNet.

CityFibre it to supply dark fibre connectivity to EasyNet as part of an overall service offered over the PSN – a “network of networks” that aims to make it easier and cheaper for local governments to procure network services.

CityFibre PSN

“In a digital age, we must ensure that our towns and cities are furnished with a next generation and future-proof digital infrastructure supporting the public and private sectors,” says Greg Mesch, CEO at CityFibre. “Our partnership with EasyNet is an exciting opportunity for local authorities up and down the country to make the most of the PSN.”

The first area to benefit from the deal is the metropolitan borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, the major settlement of which is Huddersfield. Other CityFibre networks exist or are being built in regional hubs like York, Peterborough and Coventry, and the firm recently secured £30 million to build gigabit networks in 20 more towns and cities across the UK.

The company says its infrastructure is “future-proof” thanks to smart designs that can cope with future demands. This includes considerations for the palcing of routs, number of fibres and access points which means data centres, mobile infrastructure, businesses and homes can be connected in the future.

“There is a real opportunity for public sector customers to realise the value available under PSN by incorporating all the available infrastructure and technologies, delivering maximum flexibility and commercial value,” adds Simon Holmyard, head of public sector at EasyNet. “This agreement with CityFibre complements our accredited PSN network service provision and adds to our Government portfolio of hosting, unified communications and collaboration services.”

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