Gigaclear Bring 1Gbps FTTP Broadband to 750 Premises in Otmoor, Oxfordshire

Some 750 homes and businesses across six villages in rural Otmoor (Oxfordshire, England) have now become the latest to benefit from access to Gigaclear’s new 1000Mbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network.

The new FTTP network, which covers Beckley, Elsfield, Horton cum Studley, Noke, Stanton St. John and Woodeaton, began its roll-out earlier this year (here) and was originally due to be completed by the end of August 2014. However, much like last week’s Sevenoaks news (here), there were a few small delays and thus the project has completed ever so slightly later than first anticipated.

Never the less more than 40% of the local residents have already pre-signed to take Gigaclear’s ultrafast service, which the ISP says is a “record pre-activation sign-up rate” for the company. Packages start at £37 inc. VAT per month for a symmetrical 50Mbps connection with unlimited usage and the needed Gigabit capable router, while those who want the full 1000Mbps will pay £69 per month. A £100 one-off connection fee must also be paid.

Matthew Hare, CEO of Gigaclear, said:

“The record uptake of our services by these communities is a clear sign that villages across Britain are ready for the future. Gigaclear’s pure-fibre networks are bringing that future to them, helping them enjoy life at gigabit speeds and providing infrastructure for the technology of tomorrow, rather than just trying to improve yesterday. With an investment in Oxfordshire of over £4M, Gigaclear is continuing to invest here based on local demand.”

Nick Carter, Councillor at Oxfordshire County Council, added:

“We are aware that a number of residents have worked hard at ensuring superfast broadband is brought to Otmoor, and are delighted that the local community has worked with Gigaclear to deliver this coverage to part of rural Oxfordshire. Our priority is to get as much of the county covered as possible with faster broadband so that residents and businesses can benefit from the ever increasing volume of internet based services and content.

Alongside our Better Broadband for Oxfordshire programme we welcome input from a range of commercial providers and community initiatives to help the county access improved broadband speeds.”

As usual Gigaclear will be holding an “ultrafast broadband open day” to help showcase the new service, which will be held at the Millennium Hall (Horton cum Studley) from 09:30 till 16:30 on Saturday 1st November 2014.

The ISP, which recently floated on to the London Stock Exchange in the hope of raising more investment, has a grand ambition to make its network available to 200,000 premises in predominantly rural areas (here).