TrueSpeed Hints At Expansion of FTTP Broadband to More UK Counties

Fibre optic ISP TrueSpeed has hinted to Ofcom that its 150Mbps Fibre-to-the-Premise (FTTP) broadband network, which is currently rolling out to parts of the Chew Valley in rural North East Somerset (England), could also be expanded into Devon, Wiltshire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire.

The provider has already deployed into the village of Priston and they’re now in the process of expanding to Compton Dando, Stanton Drew and Stanton Wick. The demand-led expansion could also help them to reach Woolard, Publow, Pensford, Chew Magna, Chew Stoke and Bishop Sutton in the near future.

Of course it’s not uncommon for such providers to seek Code Powers from Ofcom, which works to simplify the planning process (no need for lots of individual licenses during civil works) and can thus speed-up the roll-out of new networks. TrueSpeed has today tabled just such an application and this reveals a few tentative hints about their future plans.

Apparently TrueSpeed’s primary goal for North East Somerset is to put their pure fibre optic broadband network within reach of 8,000 properties and they’re also in the process of establishing themselves as a customer for Openreach’s (BT) Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA) product, which might enable them to roll-out with greater efficiency by harnessing the operator’s existing cable ducts and poles. The ISP sees PIA as being “fundamental to enable it to provide broadband coverage to remote locations.”

On top of that they also confirmed their intention to be “actively involved in bidding” for future Broadband Delivery UK linked contracts around the South West of England and revealed that future expansion could bring FTTP to parts of Devon, Wiltshire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire.

Extract from TrueSpeed’s Application

The Applicant has explained that it is building an advanced fibre optic network via fibre optic links direct to homes and businesses. It has explained that its network will enable ultrafast internet access, with reliable symmetrical speeds of 100MB/s to 10GB/s, and telephony services.

According to the Applicant, it has already completed deployment of its network in the village of Priston and some of its backbone fibre network is already installed within key areas of Bath. The Applicant has explained that it has also co-invested with Hibernia Networks and has, as a result, secured access to Hibernia Networks’ high specification ducting across the Wiltshire and Somerset regions and purchased sub-ducting from Hibernia Networks along that route. According to the Applicant, this will enable it to increase broadband connectivity for thousands of businesses and homes along the 77km route from Brean to Chippenham.

The Applicant has explained that its network will be linked initially to the Hibernia fibre ‘spine’ through a series of fibre nodes. These nodes can be configured and reconfigured in a variety of ways, providing a future-proof and scalable network.

As usual the regulator has proposed to grant the code powers and opened a public consultation, although it should be said that such applications are often written in an overly optimistic way in order to make them look as attractive as possible for the regulator to wave through.

Subscribers typically pay from £47.50 per month for an unlimited 100Mbps package with a “phone line included“, although they’ve recently added a new 150Mbps Home Office package that also includes “2 phone lines” for £69.50 per month.