CityFibre To Upgrade Coventry Council-Owned Fibre Network To 1Gbps

CityFibre has acquired a publicly-owned fibre network in Coventry and plans to upgrade and extend the existing infrastructure so that businesses in the West Midlands city can receive speeds of 1Gbps.

The ‘Coventry CORE’ network comprises 140km of fibre and was commissioned by Coventry City Council six years ago. As part of the council’s new partnership with CityFibre, the existing infrastructure will be upgraded and extended so thousands of businesses can receive faster broadband from this summer.

The network currently serves nearly 300 buildings near key public sites such as council offices, schools and community services and the new deal will ensure these facilities are still provided with connectivity thanks to a long-term right of use agreement.

Coventry network

Thousands more businesses will be able to access 1Gbps speeds from this summer, with CityFibre connecting properties on a demand-led basis. The firm has launched a pre-registration page, inviting local businesses to declare their interest, and the company has pledged its full participation in the Superconnected Cities scheme, which provides SMBs with vouchers to procure superfast broadband services.

It is unclear what financial compensation has been awarded to Coventry City Council, but it appears to be content that the partnership with CityFibre is beneficial to the city, especially since the 1Gbps speeds on offer are 55 times faster than the average UK connection speed of 17.8Mbps, according to Ofcom.

“Ultrafast gigabit speed connectivity is vital for Coventry businesses to enable them to compete and succeed not just on the national, but also on the international stage,” says councillor Damian Gannon. “As a Gigabit City, Coventry can now set itself alongside the most digitally advanced locations around the world and we look forward to the numerous social and economic advantages that such a status will bring; driving economic investment and catalysing business start-ups.”

Gigabit cities

The deal increases CityFibre’s national fibre footprint by 50 percent, building on its other Gigabit networks in Peterborough and York. The latter is forming the basis for a joint-venture between CityFibre, Sky and TalkTalk as part of an effort to reduce the two ISP’s dependence on BT’s open access Openreach network, raising the possibility that one of the next locations for this model could be Coventry.

“The rise of the Gigabit City represents a step-change in the evolution of digital connectivity as significant as the shift from dial-up to broadband,” says Greg Mesch, CEO at CityFibre. “As a Gigabit City, Coventry will position itself at the heart of the UK economy as the technological revolution continues to gather pace.”

Last week, rival firm Hyperoptic announced that it would be building gigabit networks in Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds to complement its existing services in Bristol, Cardiff, London and Reading.

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