CityFibre taps Middlesbrough for £42M gigabit investment

LONDON – Middlesbrough is to benefit from an investment of over £42m as part of CityFibre's plans to help replace the UK's legacy copper networks with gigabit-capable full fibre optic connectivity.

The state-of-the-art infrastructure is forecast to boost business productivity and innovation, deliver millions of pounds in economic benefits for Middlesbrough and help the region to recover from the economic downturn – while giving residents and businesses access to the UK’s fastest broadband services of up to 1,000 megabytes per second.

Detailed planning is already underway as CityFibre designs a network capable of serving Middlesbrough’s current and future demands. Upon completion, the network will be in reach of nearly every home and business in the area, providing a platform for a new generation of “smart city” applications and the roll-out of 5G mobile services.

Jason Legget, as City Manager at CityFibre, will spearhead delivery of the Middlesbrough project, which is due to commence in December. As commercial lead for CityFibre in the region, Jason will be the main contact for all the town's stakeholders and a key advocate of the wide-ranging benefits that a full fibre network will bring.

MAP Group (UK) is constructing the network on behalf of CityFibre. The company, based in Stockton-on-Tees, will use modern build techniques, including, where possible, utilising existing underground and overground infrastructure to ensure a fast and successful roll-out. Their teams are following social distancing protocols to ensure their own safety, as well as that of the general public.

CityFibre will be engaging with Middlesbrough Council and local communities to ensure a fast and successful roll-out. Ward Councillors will be briefed on plans for the local community and residents are being kept informed by door-to-door teams and mailings ahead of works commencing in their streets.

The network is not yet live but once activated, services will be available from an increasing range of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to deliver next generation broadband services.

If residents are interested in full fibre broadband, they can pre-register their interest with CityFibre to receive information when services are available at cityfibre.com/residential

CityFibre