Three UK Signs Fibre Optic Network Capacity Deal with Colt
Mobile operator Three UK has today signed another fibre optic capacity deal, this time with Colt Technology Services, in order to help fuel their latest 5G and existing 4G based (mobile broadband) network. The deal will see Colt become a “preferred provider of fibre backhaul connectivity” for the operator.
The move should complement Three UK’s existing fibre optic capacity deals with companies like SSE Enterprise Telecoms and, most recently, Cityfibre (here). The latest partnership also forms part of Three’s wider £2bn+ investment to help transform their network, “giving a better customer experience [and] increasing 4G speeds by up to 150%, as well as delivering the UK’s fastest 5G network.”
Admittedly that claim of delivering the “UK’s fastest 5G network” only really holds up if it’s supported by good network coverage, as well as independent verification of such performance, and at present Three UK is still playing catch-up on that front; the extra backhaul will help.
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The recent decision to ban Huawei’s 5G kit from the UK may have also hurt the operator, which had previously banked on the Chinese firm being their sole supplier for related network kit.
Susan Buttsworth, COO of Three UK, said:
“We are investing significantly to transform our entire network experience, which will support our customers who use three times more data than the average UK consumer. Fibre backhaul is a vital part of a reliable network experience and our partnership with Colt will mean better connectivity for our customers across the UK.”
Keri Gilder, CEO of Colt, said:
“Colt has been readying itself for the future of mobile connectivity. We are excited that Three UK has recognised our capability, and has named us as a strategic partner for its 5G deployments. We believe in the transformative power of connectivity, and we know 5G is going to drive businesses and societies forward, so we are thrilled that the Colt IQ Network is going to play a critical role in the 5G evolution for the UK.”
We note that Colt’s IQ Network currently connects 900+ data centres across Europe, Asia and North America’s largest business hubs, with over 29,000 on-net buildings and growing.
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads.net and Linkedin.
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Chester just had their big network upgrade which is great, previously 0.1mbps most days, now 30-50mbps all the time, just get the standard webpage lag which is less than it was, ping 20-58ms and latency 0-8ms average.
It’s great to see their words turn in to actions finally. Just need 5G in the Chester area and I will be made up!
I agree that the upgrade has made a big difference to me in rural Chester, I’ve even gone as far as binning cooper off for a sim broadband solution giving me 40Mbps and 20Mbps compared to 9Mbps and 0.5Mbps.
“giving a better customer experience [and] increasing 4G speeds by up to 150%, as well as delivering the UK’s fastest 5G network.”
Will believe it when I see it.
The jump i got from 0.1mbps to max 60mbps is far more than 150% ha.
Amazing
Im got three 5G broadband although on the website it says not available yet I’m sure am getting it in London E3 area speeds are around above 100mbps it’s got the full 1gb speeds which they didn’t deploy in the area
It’s good they get more conectivity for internet. I’m just wondering when they’ll get to work on coverage issues. What’s the point in getting data when tgere’s no way to access it as there’s no signal?