Gigaclear Completes 1Gbps Fibre Broadband Network in Appleton and Eaton

ISP Gigaclear (Rutland Telecom), has confirmed that 400 homes in the civil parish villages of Appleton and Eaton in Oxfordshire (England, UK) can now receive a 1Gpbs (Gigabits per second) capable fibre optic broadband (FTTP) service from £37 a month. But more communities will soon follow.

Construction of new network, which has been supported by the local Appleton Broadband Group (ABG) and Appleton & Eaton Parish Council (AEPC), started in the summer and the first customers were soon connected.

Matthew Hare, CEO of Gigaclear, said:

“We are extremely pleased to have completed the construction of the UK’s fastest broadband network. Our customers in Appleton and Eaton are connected to a broadband service which far surpasses that currently available in large towns and cities – in fact the fastest pure fibre local network in the country.”

Graham Rose, ABG Member, said:

“I have been using the Gigaclear service for a while now, and have been blown away – not just by the speed available for uploads and downloads, but, more importantly, by the realisation of how many more services I can use because of those speeds. I can make high quality video calls and, having switched to an internet telephony service, I have a better quality telephone service that costs me less. Overall my monthly costs have reduced but, through ultrafast broadband, I now have magnificent communications ability.”

It’s perhaps not accurate for Gigaclear to call its service the “UK’s fastest broadband network” as several other ISPs and network operators (e.g. CityFibre, Hyperoptic and B4RN) also have 1Gbps (i.e. 1000Megabits per second) capable solutions with homes connected. But it’s still a wonderful achievement.

The good news is that Gigaclear have also scheduled five more communities for construction over the next few months, of which four are also in Oxfordshire and the fifth in Rutland. Precise details are not available, although the ISPs website is seeking interest from residents and businesses in Boars Hill, Fyfield & Tubney (already told to expect FTTP in 2013), Stanton Harcourt and Sutton, Kingston Bagpuize & Southmoor, Frilford and Frilford Heath, Otmoor (Make Islip, Noke, Woodeaton, Elsfield and Beckley) and parts of West Tytherley.

It’s claimed that more than 150 other communities are also in discussion with Gigaclear (up from 60 in May 2012).