Trenches Law Aids toob’s FTTP Broadband Rollout in Surrey UK

UK ISP toob has appointed Trenches Law to be its telecoms law partner to help boost their latest £8m project in the Surrey (England) towns of Camberley and Frimley (here), which is expected to extend their 1Gbps Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network to over 20,000 premises by the end of 2022.

The pair will work together to manage the complex wayleave process (legal land/property access agreements), with Trenches Law working to coordinate dialogue between the Land Registry, local authorities, freeholders, property owners and toob, to ensure the necessary permissions are smoothly obtained to install and maintain network apparatus.

The deal actually represents somewhat of extension, since the pair were already working together on toob’s existing £50m build in Southampton (Hampshire), which is working to cover 75,000 premises in the city by mid-2022.

Georgina Rudak, Trenches Law’s Head of Wayleave, added:

“This industry is one that thrives when different stakeholders work together, towards the overall goal of achieving gigabit-capable coverage nationally.

Only a couple of weeks ago, the Telecommunications Infrastructure (Leasehold Property) Bill completed its passage through Parliament. Once implemented, the Bill will amend the Electronic Communications Code to make it easier for telecoms operators to access multi-dwelling buildings where a tenant has requested a new connection, but the landlord has not responded to requests for access rights. This is a landmark move, but things remain far from straightforward, without effective management of the process.”

Nick Parbutt, toob CEO, said:

“We appointed Trenches Law in 2019 to work with us on the acquisition of wayleaves in Southampton. I’m delighted to extend our partnership to Camberley and Frimley. The team at Trenches Law works with us in a true spirit of partnership – adjusting their approach and focus to meet our requirements, and I continue to be delighted with their contribution to our business.”

The provider has previously expressed an ambition to cover over 1 million premises across the South of England in the future.