Cityfibre begins £20m FTTH project in Cambridge

Cityfibre has announced the commencement of its £20m rollout of fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) broadband in Cambridge. The project is expected to benefit some 60,000 homes that currently struggle with connectivity issues.

The scheme to improve Cambridge’s broadband connections is taking place in partnership with Vodafone and will be completed by 2021. It is the second project Cityfibre is involved with in the area, as it already operates and Dark Fibre network in the city, which has helped improve connections for public sector organisations and businesses in the region.

The deployment of the £20m FTTH project is just part of Cityfibre’s much larger plan to reach a million homes in the UK by 2021 at a cost of some £2.5bn. However, it is, as yet, unclear which homes and areas will benefit from this specific project in Cambridge.

The local Councillor, Ian Bates, has welcomed the moves to improve broadband connections in the famous university city. He was particularly happy that a local contractor was being used by Cityfibre for the project. He added: “This and the work of other commercial providers complements our aim to expand full fibre networks across the county to underpin the local economy, support public services and prepare for the next-generation of mobile services.”

Cityfibre’s manager for Cambridge, Charles Kitchin, meanwhile, stated: "Digital investment has the ability to transform businesses and communities and recent research estimates that over the next 15 years, full fibre could unlock £470m for the city’s economy. Full fibre can also attract inward investment and boost the local economy for years to come.”

(Image: Andrew Dunn)