London-focused broadband ISP CommunityFibre has announced that their 3Gbps Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network has now extended its coverage from 200,000 homes in February 2021 to 300,000 now (plus 12,000 businesses), which supports their ambition to reach 1 million UK premises by the end of 2023.
The operator’s network is currently available across parts of Barnet, Bexley, Brent, Camden, City of London, Croydon, Ealing, Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Harrow, Hounslow, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Kingston upon Thames, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Newham, Richmond upon Thames, Southwark, Sutton, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Wandsworth and Westminster.
At the current pace, which roughly reflects a growth of 100,000 premises every six months, CF should reach 400,000 premises by the end of 2021 and their current near-term build agreements will then see them reach 600,000. Most of the homes on their network come from large apartment blocks (MDUs) and office buildings, but they are also deploying to individual houses (SDU) too.
Homes on their network are typically offered maximum broadband speeds of up to 3Gbps, while business can access speeds of up to 10Gbps.
Graeme Oxby, CEO of Community Fibre, said:
“The last year has shown us that digital connectivity is just as important a utility as gas and electricity. As such, we have been working hard to ensure that all parts of London have access to a fast speed, highly available broadband network. We believe that London should have the best possible infrastructure to support its future growth ambitions. Our mission is to improve digital connectivity for all Londoners, and we are on track to reach 400,000 homes by the end of the year.”
Customers of the service can currently take an unlimited 50Mbps package for just £20 per month for the first 24 months of service (£25 thereafter), while 300Mbps costs £25 per month (£29.50 thereafter), 800Mbps costs £35 per month (£40 thereafter), 1Gbps costs £49 per month (£54 thereafter) and their top 3Gbps tier is £99 per month (£110 thereafter).
The service is good but I notice they keep on sneaking up the prices. They are losing their competitive advantage and have only just built the network that they need to recoup their investment on.
They offer cheap deals in the early days to generate cash flow. As they build out more they are getting less cheap.
Still, even the full rate of £54 for a gig symmetric is ok.
It’s cheap for 1 gigabit, but who needs a gigabit? I’m on 150mbps and it seems just obscenely fast. 50mbps is more than enough for the vast majority of people so the entry level product needs to be competitive.
The entry level product Is competitive isn’t it, its ballpark or better than most fttc offerings.
There’s a lot of fibre being laid in London these days it seems but no one seems to care about Haringey for some reason. Strange, as it is surrounded by other boroughs that are getting it.
Hi Kurtainz – The main reason is that Haringey Council, as the largest landlord in the area, has not granted permission (wayleave) for operators to install full fibre at their properties yet. Without this it become economically more difficult to bring full fibre to other properties in the borough. Please ask your ward councillors when the council will be signing a wayleave.
If you look at London not spots it is down to how difficult the Councils are.
Some of them are terrifyingly bad at getting things done. Others, such as Wandsworth, just want to keep moving.
3 Gigabit SYMMETRICAL for £99
i would still take it
I live in the City of London and am still stuck on max speed of 75mbps… FML