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CityFibre, the UK’s largest independent full fibre platform, has today announced plans to extend its £40m project to bring the best available connectivity to homes and businesses across Aberdeen.
Representing an additional investment of £19m, the move will enable thousands more homes beyond the original build footprint to access its full fibre network and reliable high-speed broadband services from a number of providers, including Vodafone, TalkTalk, Zen and GraniteGiG by Converged.
In October 2021, CityFibre hit a major milestone when it passed 500km of fibre cabling laid across the Granite City, three years on from when work got underway on its network. Now, with huge demand for full fibre services, additional areas are being added to the rollout.
Homes in Woodside, Garthdee, Ruthrieston, Mannofield, Kincorth, Broomhill, Cove, Kaimhill, Ferryhill, Northfield, Tillydrone, Rosehill, Hazlehead, Airyhall, Hilton, Seaton and Torry are now ready for service. Customers are already enjoying some of the fastest and most reliable broadband services available in the UK through Vodafone, TalkTalk, Zen and GraniteGiG by Converged, with other providers set to join the local network soon.
Other areas yet to go live but set to benefit from the roll out include Bridge of Don, Bucksburn, Stoneywood, Dyce, Rosemount, Mastrick, Sheddocksley, and some areas of the city centre, with the extended project now expected to be largely complete by the end of this year.
In 2017, CityFibre connected schools, libraries and other public buildings in the city in partnership with Capita as part of the Scotland-wide Area Network (SWAN) programme. Following award of this project, which was funded via the Aberdeen City Region Deal, CityFibre committed £40m of private investment to deliver its full fibre network to homes and businesses across the city.
Build partner GCU is delivering the project on CityFibre’s behalf. The team will continue to work closely with CityFibre and Aberdeen City Council to manage any disruption and use modern build techniques to ensure a fast and efficient roll out.
Allan McEwan, CityFibre’s city manager for Aberdeen, said: “We’re making huge strides in delivering full fibre to homes and businesses across Aberdeen, and we’re thrilled to be able to bring our best-in-class network to even more of the city.
“At CityFibre, we pride ourselves on being agile and flexible. There is clear demand right across Aberdeen for full fibre services and we continue to build at pace to ensure as many people benefit from our network as soon as possible.”
Councillor Jenny Laing, vice chair of the Aberdeen City Region Deal and leader of Aberdeen City Council, added: “In 2017 the Aberdeen City Region Deal invested in core digital infrastructure across the City. Roll forward to 2021 and thanks to that investment stimulating private investment from CityFibre, Aberdeen is now a Gigabit City. This new announcement, committing additional investment into the City, will allow more residents and businesses to access better and faster speeds as well as competitive pricing.”
Welcoming further investment into Aberdeen City, Scottish Government Economy Secretary, MSP Kate Forbes said: “This is a welcome boost for thousands of householders and was enabled by £2m of funding from the Scottish Government, as part of our £10m commitment to digital projects in the region. This is in addition to our commitments to fund digital infrastructure via the Aberdeen City Deal, delivering inclusive and sustainable economic growth in the North East.
“Accessing fast and reliable broadband has never been so important as we build a sustainable recovery from the pandemic. That is why the Scottish Government is making substantial investments in digital infrastructure to ensure all of Scotland has access to high-speed internet.”
Full fibre networks, unlike many of the copper-based ‘fibre broadband’ services available today, use 100% fibre optic cables to carry data at light speed all the way from the home to the point of connection. This gives users speeds of up to 1,000 Mbps for upload and download, near limitless bandwidth and connectivity they can depend on.
A full fibre connection also goes far beyond simply enabling access to the latest entertainment at lightning speed. As an essential digital utility, full fibre boosts households and businesses alike, with experts saying it will drive a range of economic benefits, such as making us more productive and innovative.
Residents interested in giving their home broadband a boost can find out more about the build and check whether services are live by visiting www.cityfibre.com/residential.
