Gigaclear Begin Rollout of 1Gbps FTTP Broadband in West Berkshire UK

Fibre optic ISP Gigaclear has today officially begun the roll-out of their new 1000Mbps Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network to parts of remote rural West Berkshire in England, which should benefit around 12,000 homes and businesses by the end of 2017.

The contract, which is being supported by the Government’s Broadband Delivery UK programme and its related Superfast Berkshire project, was officially signed in July 2015 (here) and is designed to complement BTOpenreach’s local roll-out of slower FTTC dominated broadband connectivity.

Gigaclear’s principal contractor, MKJ, has now started work on the first Gigabit fibre broadband cabinet in Eddington (Hungerford), which is due to complete before Christmas 2015. Other areas, such as those in and around East Garston, Kintbury and Lambourn, will follow and should be among the first to benefit (see here for the rollout schedule).

Matthew Hare, CEO of Gigaclear, said:

“This is an exciting start to the delivery of this future-proofed, ultrafast broadband network in West Berkshire. Installing a new, pure fibre communications network will give those living and working in the region Internet speeds up to 1000Mbps meaning they can do whatever they need to do online, anytime. Working in partnership with the Superfast Berkshire team, we look forward to transforming the broadband experience in this area and delivering this project on time.”

In terms of funding, Gigaclear is understood to be contributing nearly £16 million to the project and a smaller slice may then come from public funding. Overall it’s understood that this should help West Berkshire to exceed 99% superfast (24Mbps+) coverage by the end of 2017.

It’s worth pointing out that Call Flow Solutions are also playing a part in the contract by deploying some slower FTTC services to 11 new street cabinets in Windsor & Maidenhead, which will expand superfast broadband to around 1,750 additional premises.