CityFibre to Boost UK Fibre Optic Broadband Capacity via Level 3 Deal

CityFibre, which builds ultra-fast 100Mbps+ fibre optic (FTTH) broadband networks for big towns and cities around the United Kingdom (e.g. York and Bournemouth), has today announced a new capacity deal with Level 3 Communications that could enable it to launch 1Gbps services “throughout the United Kingdom“.

The operator, which has long held an ambition to deploy their urban-focused fibre optic services “throughout the UK’s second tier cities” to reach 1 million homes and 50,000 businesses, states that the new deal will effectively connect its metropolitan fibre networks to Level 3’s global IP network. But for now the deal is mainly focused on supporting business solutions.

Apparently customers that are connected to the network will receive the “ultimate in enterprise-grade connectivity – a dedicated symmetrical gigabit-speed Internet service, with virtually limitless capacity and incredibly low latency” through its new Leased Line services.

Greg Mesch, CEO of CityFibre, said:

“We are delighted to announce this agreement with Level 3. Its world-class IP service, combined with our future-proofed metropolitan fibre networks make a very powerful combination. We are excited about the huge benefits that these services will bring to businesses throughout the country.

It is no surprise that cities around the world are seeing the deployment of pure fibre networks delivering gigabit services. Pure fibre is the future of business connectivity, and we are very pleased to be working with Level 3 to make this a reality in the UK.”

James Heard, Level 3 Regional President of EMEA, added:

“Level 3 Communications owns and operates one of the largest IP networks in the industry, and we’re pleased to have CityFibre as a customer. Our network has more than 6.0 terabytes per second of global peering capacity and the ability to serve customers in more than 500 markets in 55 countries. Our leadership in providing enterprise-grade Internet services and a best-of-breed IP service is ideal to power the Internet provisioning over CityFibre’s pure fibre networks.”

The new Internet Leased Lines will be “rolled-out over the next 12 months” and York will be the first to benefit. Further cities are expected to follow but, for now, there’s no sign of any new residential/domestic focused solutions; although business connectivity often acts as a catalyst for that.