CityFibre Holdings Ltd. is a UK focused Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) infrastructure provider that specialises in deploying ultrafast fibre optic broadband services into urban areas. The company was founded in January 2011 after it acquired the extensive UK fibre optic assets of H2O Networks and Fibrecity from the i3 Group Limited (Earlestown Technology Limited), which collapsed following a Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigation of the projects financiers (Total Asset Finance).
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The assets included more than 100 long term customer contracts with local authorities, the NHS, police and educational establishments, and one of the UK’s largest Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) networks in Bournemouth; passing more than 20,000 homes and businesses with internet service speeds of over 100Mbps (Megabits per second). Unfortunately CityFibre, which is headed up by i3 Group's former President and COO, Greg Mesch, inherited a woefully incomplete fibre optic network in Bournemouth. It's now attempting to restart the development and put right what went wrong under the previous owners. ISPreview.co.uk spoke exclusively to the firms Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), Mark Collins, in an effort to find out more about its progress and what the future holds for CityFibre.
1. What are your thoughts on last year’s Serious Fraud Office’s (SFO) investigation into Total Asset Finance (TAF), which had appeared to be funding most of i3’s original Fibrecity project, and do you worry that the fallout from this could have an impact upon CityFibre’s efforts?
2. It’s often said that deploying a fibre optic network by digging up roads can be incredibly disruptive to local residents. The original Fibrecity project in Bournemouth caused a number of affected residents to complain about related pavement damage and obstructions, what has CityFibre done to address these concerns and to hopefully prevent them from reoccurring?
3. The original Fibrecity project often touted a patented FS System, which could cut costs by deploying fibre optic cables via underground sewers. Sadly a number of the key negotiations with water companies in the UK subsequently ran into problems. For example, Wessex Water complained that “the technology methodology didn’t work” for them and neither did the “reward for placing the cables” in their sewers. As a result Fibrecity was forced down the expensive route of digging up roads and pavements.
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