Cityfibre Finish 4km Extension to 1Gbps Peterborough Fibre Optic Network

A further 150 businesses in the South Fengate part of Peterborough (Cambridgeshire, UK) can now access a 1Gbps capable connection, which comes after Cityfibre completed the 4km extension of their existing c.120km fibre optic Ethernet and broadband network in the cathedral city.

The primary Peterborough CORE network, which forms part of a partnership with Peterborough City Council and IT services provider Serco, was officially completed in 2015 and at the time it aimed to put the network within reach of over 4,000 businesses (roughly 80% of the city’s firms) and various public sector organisations. GreenCity Solutions is Cityfibre’s local ISP of choice for the delivery of related services.

The network has also recently been extended to cover business parks across the wider Fengate area, Lynch Wood and Orton Southgate.

Rob Baldacci, MD of GreenCity Solutions, said:

“We’ve been working with CityFibre across Peterborough to transform the digital networks of businesses across the city. We’re really pleased to have connected the entire business park at Fengate, providing businesses that were previously reliant on slow and unreliable copper-based connections with affordable, next-generation connectivity and ultra-fast speeds.”

Neil Aspin, Cityfibre’s City Development Manager, added:

“Peterborough is one of our flagship Gigabit Cities and a real jewel in the UK’s digital crown. The network expansion which now covers the whole of Fengate Business Park is testament to how successful the network has been across the city with more and more businesses taking advantage of ultrafast connectivity.

Peterborough has really embraced the new infrastructure having now secured a full-fibre digital footprint across both private and public sectors. Being chosen for the launch of the DIIF further highlights Peterborough’s excellent digital credentials and sincere ambition to be a leading city of the future.”

At this point it’s probably worth remembering that the original Peterborough announcement also touted an aspiration for future deployments to local residents via a “second phase“, which might one day extend the service (FTTH) to reach around 60,000 homes. Obviously the city has now become a prime candidate for the new deal with Vodafone (here), although neither operator has confirmed a rollout plan yet.