Cityfibre Praise 1Gbps Community FTTP Build for Rural Businesses in Eltofts

Urban fibre optic builder Cityfibre and local ISP partner Diva Telecom have praised the efforts of a rural community in the village of Eltofts, which helped to dig the trenches for a new 1Gbps fibre optic (FTTP) broadband network to connect local premises with the operator’s 117km network in Leeds.

Prior to the deployment some farms in Eltofts had struggled to squeeze even a broadband speed of 6Mbps out of the older copper infrastructure and that was by bonding two lines together (over £80 per month). However by working with the community Diva were able to provide Gigabit speeds over a 24km length of optical fibre to Wetherby Road in Eltofts and from there the residents dug their own trenches.

The effort has also been short-listed in the Connected Britain category at this year’s forthcoming (October) NextGen Digital Challenge Awards 2017.

Erica Lewis, Managing Director of Diva Telecom, said:

“Connectivity is no longer simply about internet access – it now underpins many businesses’ sales platforms, systems and processes too. That’s why we committed ourselves to helping the Eltofts community resolve their connectivity woes – as quickly as possible. We are proud to be in the running for this year’s Connected Britain Award and see this as an opportunity to raise awareness of full-fibre connectivity and the solution it can offer businesses throughout Leeds and beyond.”

Andy Wright, Technical Manager of the Eltofts Project, said:

“We’ve experienced incomprehensible improvement and it has made a huge impact on all our lives. A fast and reliable connection is now a necessity for businesses and like many rural communities, we were being left in the dark ages.”

Sadly we haven’t been given any information about the cost of Diva’s deployment into Eltofts or how much local businesses are paying for their new service, although it’s clearly a big improvement for them and around 12 businesses (e.g. farms) are already making use of the new connectivity.