New UK ISP Lightning Fibre Preps 10Gbps Broadband for East Sussex

Lately we’ve been seeing a lot of new “full fibre” providers launch and now another one, Lightning Fibre, looks set to join the fray. The ISP appears to be initially targeting the roll-out of their 10Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) broadband network toward the Eastbourne area of East Sussex.

The company itself was incorporated over a year ago (here) and its Managing Director is Ben Ferriman, who was previously a Project Manager at Mott MacDonald and prior to that held a similar role at Capita Real Estate and Infrastructure. According to Ben’s Linkedin profile, “I’ve formed a crack multi-disciplined team with a wealth of experience to deliver the outcome of circa 50,000+ properties passed within the next three years.”

A related application for Code Powers from Ofcom (i.e. this speeds up deployment by reducing the number of licenses needed for street works) reveals that the ISP may eventually expand into more of East Sussex and possibly the UK in general, although for now they appear to be laser focused upon inner Eastbourne.

One other reason for the pursuit of Code Powers is that it will enable the ISP to make use of existing infrastructure, including sewers and Openreach’s (BT) revised Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA) product “wherever possible” (i.e. PIA can be used to reduce their network deployment costs and the disruption associated with civil works).

The ISP’s website lists a number of packages for home and business users. Residential consumers look set to be offered a 1000Mbps package with unlimited usage and an included wireless router for just £40 per month. Apparently this will come alongside a “fixed price” 24 month contract term, free installation and parental controls. A VoIP (phone) service also appears to be available.

At present though the provider doesn’t appear to have completed any network deployments (their coverage map is currently blank), although they are seeking interest from locals and have pledge to connect “areas of highest registrations of interest first” (i.e. a commercial demand-led deployment). We’ll add them to our database once the first services go live.