Gigaclear is looking into using CityFibre’s Peterborough network to rollout gigabit fibre broadband to eight nearby villages.
The pure fibre ISP that specialises in setting up small rural networks is looking at connecting around 1,500 properties across Ashton, Bainton, Barnack, Helpston, Marholme, Pilsgate, Tallington and Ufford near the Cambridgeshire city of Peterborough.
Should the plans go ahead, Gigaclear will connect customers to download and upload speeds of up to 1Gbps (1,000Mbps).
CityFibre’s PeterboroughCORE network, which started to roll out in April, will be used to connect Gigaclear customers to the internet.
Gigaclear’s business model is based on local demand and availability of a core network is can use as a backhaul connection. If enough residents and businesses commit to signing up for Gigaclear’s services, which start at £37/month, and there’s available backhaul, Gigaclear will start digging.
Local broadband champion Ken Otter, based in Tallington said: “We had heard about the CityFibre project in Peterborough and were aware of Gigaclear’s rural broadband capabilities and decided that rather than go for a stop-gap solution that extends the life of our existing copper-based communications, we wanted something that guarantees speeds to all residents for now and the future.”
Gigaclear’s connections are full FTTP (Fibre to the Premises) lines that provide guaranteed download speeds.
While BT is busy rolling out superfast broadband connections to millions of homes under the UK Government’s BDUK (Broadband Delivery for the UK) scheme, many people stand to be upgraded to FTTC (Fibre to the Cabinet).
While FTTC offers much faster speeds than older ADSL broadband, it can’t provide the same headline speeds as FTTP lines can.
The actual top speed you’ll get varies depending on the distance between your home or business to the street cabinet. FTTC will suit the needs for most today, but some communities want something more future-proofed.
Greg Mesch, Chief Executive at CityFibre added, “CityFibre is delighted to provide Gigaclear backhaul connectivity via our Peterborough CORE fibre network. This project further demonstrates the value of metro fibre infrastructure, enabling satellite towns and villages to access next generation services from innovative providers like Gigaclear.”
Gigaclear has yet to comment on when it will start connecting the villages but says its begun working with CityFibre and Peterborough City Council.
Joe Frost, sales and marketing director at Gigaclear said: “We are looking forward to starting to work with these communities to understand the level of demand, and being able to help them thrive.”
Typically at least 30 per cent of a local community need to promise to buy services from Gigaclear before it starts piping fibre broadband to a local area. Interested parties can regitser interest simply by entering their postcode here.
Gigaclear currently delivers gigabit broadband to Rutland premises and is currently building networks in rural Kent and Oxfordshire.
CityFibre also runs fibre networks in Bournemouth – where local ISP Gigler supplies gigabit services – and York, where it’s preparing to launch more services with Sky and TalkTalk.
Image: Dave Crosby/Flickr
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