ISP Plans FTTP Broadband for 120,000 Lincolnshire UK Premises

Some 120,000 homes in Lincolnshire (England) look set to benefit from a new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network after the Quantum Group of Companies, which includes local ISP Quantum Air Fibre, acquired engineering firm QConex (formerly KConex) and is now preparing a major rollout in the county.

Until now Quantum Air Fibre (QAF) was probably better known for having deployed a 100Mbps capable Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) broadband network across parts of Lincolnshire (focusing upon villages and other rural locations), although they have recently started to build a number of residential “full fibre” (FTTP) networks in the county too.

The good news is that the Quantum Group of Companies now looks set to massively up their game in the full fibre field and in order to do that they’ve just acquired civil engineering firm QConex for an undisclosed sum. The Director of QConex, David Swanston, informed ISPreview.co.uk that the target is to build FTTP to cover 120,000 homes in Lincolnshire.

On top of that they’re also in the process of building their own backhaul capacity link from Telehouse North in London to their own newly built data centre in the village of Coningsby. We note that QAF is actually head-quartered at a former RAF base in the beautiful Lincolnshire Wolds (Brookenby Business Park).

Nick Hugill, Managing Director of Quantum Air Fibre, said:

“Prior to any formal arrangements to welcome QConex to the Quantum family, Dave, Kay and their team were an obvious choice for a build partner. They were clear from the outset that in addition to becoming our principal network engineering/construction solution provider that they are committed to their existing clients. The integrity and determination they bring are qualities that any ISP would hope for and it’s with pleasure that we are now in a position to say that QConex has found a new home with Quantum.”

David Swanston, Director of QConex, said:

“In Quantum we found a company, and indeed a Directorship, that shares our core values and dedication to providing quality services with a consistently unerring commitment to their delivery. The decision to join the group was one that we are delighted to announce and is ultimately in the best interest of our existing and future clients as we are committed to meeting the demands of an industry which requires dedication and professionalism without compromise.”

Once live residential customers can expect to pay from £29 per month for a 120Mbps FTTP package, which rises to £49 per month for their top 1000Mbps plan, although their website doesn’t provide a lot of detail on these packages (e.g. contract term, install fees, router, other features etc.). A VoIP based phone plan can also be added from £11.95 per month (plus a £15 one-off setup cost).

At present we don’t know much about their future rollout plan, beyond the broad intention to focus on a big chunk of Lincolnshire. We have asked for a few more details on their funding and time-scale for this project and will update again once we know more.

UPDATE 11:05am

QAF informs that they intend to build to their 120,000 premises (Phase 1) target by Q1 2022, which will be via a mixture of privately funded work and also gigabit vouchers.