New ITS Technology Full Fibre Network is Live in Scunthorpe UK

At the start of this year ITS Technology, supported by the North Lincolnshire Council (NLC), began building a new 10Gbps capable “full fibre” Ethernet and broadband network to serve local businesses in the industrial town of Scunthorpe (Lincolnshire). The good news today is that this network has now gone live.

The new network is 6 miles (c.9.65km) long and runs from Scunthorpe Post Office, through the town centre and, finally, out northwards towards the Foxhills Industrial Estate. The deployment also made use of some existing infrastructure (e.g. cable ducts) in order to reduce the need for disruptive street works.

Details of the business broadband and leased line prices for this network can be found on the https://www.northlincs-internet.co.uk website. For example, the entry-level 100Mbps (50Mbps upload) package costs £58.50 ex. VAT per month and prices go up to £107.10 for a 200Mbps (symmetric) package. The faster leased line (Ethernet) options are of course much more expensive than that and top out at £288 for 1Gbps.

Interestingly, ITS originally said that they expected this network to be completed by mid-March 2021 (here), so it took a little longer than expected. However, the local media reported the news of ITS’ network going live over two weeks ago, but for some reason their general announcement has only just been issued today.

Philip Lee, Head of Wholesale at ITS, said:

“We’re delighted to bring full fibre to another area of the UK that has been overlooked. North Lincolnshire Council’s appetite to update Scunthorpe’s connectivity has been clear from the outset and they have been very supportive, collaborating at each stage of the build process from start to finish. Now businesses in the area have the connectivity they need to be able to accelerate their digital journeys.”

Cllr Rob Waltham, Leader of NLC, said:

“With this investment ITS will bring much needed improvements to the infrastructure in Scunthorpe. The demand from current businesses for high speed connectivity and broadband is there and it will also help us attract new companies to the area who rely on fast internet connections. We have a very serious plan for investment across the next five years thanks to £27m from the Government’s Town Deal that will grow the economy and create jobs. The end result of all of this will be that the right conditions will have been developed for highly-skilled, well-paid, sustainable jobs to flourish in Scunthorpe.”

Further plans are in place to expand the new network into South Scunthorpe, covering Brumby, Ashby, Skippingdale and South Park industrial Estate. The closest gigabit-capable competitor to ITS in the town is Virgin Media, which covers the vast majority of premises.