Map of Cityfibre’s Gigabit FTTP Fibre Optic Network in Hull UK

A new map has been revealed that for the first time depicts exactly where Cityfibre’s new ultrafast 62km long fibre optic (FTTP) network is being deployed in the East Yorkshire (England) city of Hull.

The information, which was previously considered by the operator to be too commercially sensitive to show (they have several competitors in the area, such as KC), was first revealed to Hull City Council and has now been published by the Hull Daily Mail.

The map itself is dated from May 2015 and depicts completed sections of fibre optic infrastructure in GREEN and those due to be laid by the end of November 2015 in RED. The network, which is predominantly focused on business connectivity, passes through various industrial estates (e.g. Sutton Fields) and nearby major firms.

CityFibre began building the new network last year (here) as part of a major long-term deal to supply capacity for local mobile operators EE and Three UK (Mobile-Broadband Network Limited). Since then Cityfibre has also signed supply deals with local ISPs PureBroadband (here), Connexion (here) and fellow fibre optic developer MS3 (here).

James Thomas, CityFibre’s Director of Operations, said:

“The next phase is the expansion of the core network into business areas. We will be looking to get close to and into business parks, and exploring opportunities that are near the network, and over time it will allow us to grow.

The map broadly sets out the overall official footprint of the initial build. It gives us a good foothold and good coverage across the whole of the city.”

At present there are no concrete plans for the network to support a deployment of 1000Mbps capable Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) broadband services to local residents; although Cityfibre’s work with Sky Broadband and TalkTalk in York suggests that the possibility does exist.

However cracking a market that KC already dominates via its own FTTP/H platform, which is currently being expanded to 60,000 premises by spring 2016, would be very difficult indeed.