Cityfibre Deal to Bring 1Gbps Fibre to Businesses in Cheltenham and Gloucester

Cityfibre has today signed a new deal with Cheltenham-based ISP Bamboo, which will support the roll-out of their 500Mbps and 1Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network to cater for businesses in the large town of Cheltenham and the city of Gloucester (Gloucestershire, England).

The announcement claims that a recent survey conducted by both companies has revealed how over 60% of local businesses in both areas are “languishing with an internet connection below 50Mbps” (note: that’s a lot better than the take-up of superfast broadband in other places), although it’s worth noting that Virgin Media’s 350Mbps capable cable broadband network already reaches around 75-85% of both areas.

Unfortunately the press release, which seems to focus on being the only “genuine alternative” to Openreach’s (BT) network in the region (note: they already have almost universal coverage of ‘up to’ 80Mbps FTTC) and avoids name dropping Virgin Media, doesn’t include any other details about the network itself (e.g. expected coverage and deployment time-scale, although this is listed as coming “soon“).

Nick Gray, City Development Manager at CityFibre, said:

“We’ve successfully rolled out full-fibre infrastructure to 42 metro areas in the UK, including neighbouring Bristol in 2016. Our expansion into two new areas will help the region reach its digital potential. Our investment in Gloucester and Cheltenham will stand to give businesses and services a modern foundation for growth, investment and innovation and a proven toolkit for increased efficiency, productivity and competitiveness. We’re delighted to be working alongside Bamboo in Cheltenham and Gloucester, as their experience, local insight and diverse range of solutions will be invaluable to aiding businesses take full advantage of the new infrastructure.”

Lorrin White, Managing Director of Bamboo Technologies, added:

“We’re very excited to offer businesses across the area truly affordable, ultrafast fibre connectivity for the first time through our exclusive partnership with CityFibre. With over 85% of businesses we spoke to expressing an interest in affordable 500Mbps, there is clearly a growing appetite and need for the service.”

The addition of CityFibre’s connectivity to our portfolio builds on our strong momentum to deliver supply chain excellence and significant internal development during the last 12+ months. As a fellow innovator and disruptor in our industry, CityFibre is a great fit for Bamboo. Their fresh approach, dedication to customer service and determination to move the industry forward are values which are very close to our heart. We are very proud to be CityFibre’s exclusive launch partner in Cheltenham and Gloucester.”

Suffice to say that deploying FTTP into such an area, albeit only for serving business premises, could prove to be a challenge given that some big competition already exists. In that sense we suspect that Cityfibre will be looking to undercut the offer from rivals, with faster speeds for less money.