Truespeed Start 2022 with GBP100m Boost for UK Full Fibre Rollout

Alternative network ISP Truespeed, which until now has been fuelled by £75m from Aviva Investors to help build their 10Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network in Somerset (England), has today kicked off 2022 by securing another £100m from the same investor to help accelerate their expansion plans.

So far the Bath-based provider has already extended their FTTP network to 200 rural communities (mostly in Somerset) and last year confirmed that they held an “ambitious target to reach 500,000 properties within the next five years,” although they’ve been a little coy with any details on the progress of their build (previously they expected to hit around 75,000 premises by the end of 2021).

Nevertheless, in the past year, Truespeed claims to have “doubled the size of its network” to under-served areas and extended its build to the heritage cities of Bath and Wells. And in December 2021, the firm announced the start of its network build in Glastonbury, Shepton Mallet and Street. The new funds should enable their rollout to both continue and accelerate.

James Lowther, Truespeed CEO, said:

“We are delighted that our continuing relationship with Aviva Investors has provided this next tranche of investment. This will allow us to significantly accelerate our roll-out, enabling us to connect more customers to our ultrafast, ultra-reliable full fibre service.

Credit to my predecessor Evan Wienburg and the great team here at Truespeed for the hard work undertaken to get us to this point. We are now an established and fast-growing employer in the region with a reputation for excellent staff training and personal development.

It is a privilege to lead the business as we embark on our next phase of growth.”

Sean McLachlan, Senior Director, Aviva Investors, said:

“Since our initial investment in 2017, Truespeed has continued to successfully deliver essential gigabit-capable broadband infrastructure to under-served locations across the South West of the UK.

This second tranche of funding reflects our belief that the company and its activities not only represent a sound investment, but also create significant social benefits for local communities across the country.

We look forward to continuing to support Truespeed and furthering the roll-out of its network build and award-winning service.”

The challenge for Truespeed is that they face an increasingly competitive market, which in recent years has ballooned with alternative networks that often end up fighting over some of the same areas. However, the provider has been established for much longer than many of those newer entrants and have already deployed across a fairly wide area. Now, Aviva has just given them a huge vote of financial confidence.