First Homes Live in ISP Wessex Internet’s Somerset FTTP Build

Rural UK ISP Wessex Internet has this week connected the first home in South Somerset to their new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network, which has been deployed as part of their state aid supported contract via the Connecting Devon and Somerset (CDS) programme.

The Phase 2 CDS contract, which was originally awarded at the end of last year (here), is supported by £4.7m of public investment (partly from Building Digital UK) and will see the operator spending the next 3 years on a build that will expand their full fibre network to cover 3,618 premises (homes and businesses) in remote rural parts of South Somerset.

After a period of planning and surveying, the first civil engineering work finally got underway during May 2021 in the village of Woolston, North Cadbury. The deployment itself has been split into 6 phases, with the first phase covering locations such as Woolston, North and South Barrow and Sparkford.

The good news is that retired BA pilot, Peter Randall (86 years old), has just become the first person to go live on the new network. The connection was made in the village of Woolston, North Cadbury.

Hector Gibson Fleming, CEO Wessex Internet, said:

“It’s great to meet people like Peter in person and hear first-hand just how important it is to have a reliable, efficient internet connection. Residents and businesses in rural areas shouldn’t have to put up with an inferior service just because of where they live. We are delighted to be working with Connecting Devon and Somerset to help connect the countryside in South Somerset.”

David Hall, CDS Board Member and Somerset Cabinet Member, said:

“It’s good to see fibre to the premises going in which is the next phase of the project and a great step forward. We’re trying to get to as many people as possible and we’re really reaching out to rural areas and making a difference. We live in a digital world now and we recognise how important good connectivity is to people but it’s a challenging, complex process. Everyone’s working as hard as possible, and we’ll get there as soon as we can.”

The provider will now continue to connect properties in Woolston, Sutton Montis and surrounding areas, with their rollout stretching from Castle Cary, down towards East Coker across to North Perrott and up to Montacute, Somerton and back to Sparkford.