Infracapital-backed UK ISP Gigaclear, which tends to focus on deploying gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband networks across rural parts of England, has announced that they’ve started work in Buckingham to connect the town and outlying villages of Maids Moreton, Chackmore, Radclive, Gawcott and Padbury.
So far the operator’s network, which currently covers around 250,000 premises, is already present in rural communities and market towns across parts of Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Somerset, Devon, Dorset, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Kent and Essex.
Despite this, they haven’t previously entered Buckingham itself, until now. Gigaclear’s full-fibre upgrade will bring speeds of up to 900Mbps to 6,866 premises (homes and businesses) across the town. In total, the project will require over 117 kilometres of fibre, which will be laid via trenching, as well as through Openreach’s (BT) existing duct and pole infrastructure.
The expansion of Gigaclear’s network build to Buckingham has already commenced, with work expected to be completed by early 2023.
Ben Woods, Central General Manager at Gigaclear, said:
“We’ve been firmly established in Buckinghamshire for some time now, bringing our hyperfast broadband to those rural communities that really need it. With this infrastructure and regional knowledge in place, we are now able to focus our attention on bringing the underserved market towns, like Buckingham, up to speed.
For many people, working from home is here to stay, so having warp speed internet is now a real necessity, and certainly valued higher than ever before. We can bring speeds in Buckingham up from around 38Mbps to 900Mbps. When downloading large files, like films and games, we are talking the difference between 40 minutes and just two. To put that in perspective, with standard broadband, you can click download and go on a five mile run before it’s complete, but with a Gigaclear connection you wouldn’t even have time to make a cup of tea.
We’re excited to bring our network to more people, especially those that need it the most, allowing them to enjoy the life-changing benefits that come with world-leading connectivity.”
New customers of the service can expect to pay from £17 per month for an unlimited symmetric speed package of 200Mbps with free installation and on an 18-month term (£47 thereafter), which rises to £49 if you want their top 900Mbps plan (£79 thereafter).
UPDATE 28th Jan 2022
Engineering firm Actavo has also just secured its first build contract with Gigaclear, which includes the above deployment in Buckinghamshire and looks set to be extended into other parts of South Central England under their 5-year contract.
As part of the contract, Actavo Network & In-Home Division will create a workforce of over 100 across its supply chain, including Network Designers, Engineers and Management, to provide a full-fibre network build across residential and commercial properties.
Parts of Buckingham have Openreach FTTP so interesting they’re potentially going in as a competitor as their pricing isn’t great vs Openreach ISPs.
@Gigaclear if you are a reader please consider infilling Edgcott and Grendon Underwood-Springhill estate!!
Given that FTTC is already rolled out in Buckingham, why are Gigaclear using 117km of fibre for this? My technical knowledge is limited but could they not use the FTTC infrastructure and just use their cable for the last bit from the cabinet? Is it a technical limitation (i.e. just not possible) or a commercial decision?