ISP Gigaclear Starts FTTP Broadband Rollout in Blandford Forum

Infracapital-backed UK ISP Gigaclear has begun street works in the rural Dorset (England) market town of Blandford Forum, which is also expected to cover parts of Blandford St. Mary. Over 6,000 local homes and business premises are due to gain access to their 1Gbps Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network.

The work forms part of the provider’s existing £13m expansion project for Dorset (here), which is also expected to reach into Stalbridge, Sherborne, Colehill, Sturminster Marshall and Lytchett Matravers. According to the progress update, the first connections are expected to go live in Blandford by Summer 2022.

The build itself is not without its complexities. The market town’s paving stones are currently in the process of being restored, complicating the trenching process needed to lay the 33,000 metres of fibre required for the build. By working collaboratively with Dorset County Council, Gigaclear will aim to make use of existing cable ducts and pole infrastructure in order to reduce the amount of trenching work required.

The other catch is that both Openreach and Wessex Internet are also deploying rival gigabit broadband networks into the same town, which we’d imagine could stretch their respective economic viability models quite a bit.

Jo Scarrott, General Manager for Gigaclear (South West), said:

“We’re thrilled to be able to take such a collaborative approach to our first commercial project in Dorset, working closely with the Council to bring a much-needed broadband boost.

Access to workable broadband is a must in today’s world, for education, home working, running a business, entertainment and keeping in contact with loved ones. We’re proud to be bringing warp-speed internet to the people and businesses of Blandford Forum!”

The operator’s network, which currently covers over 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. The aim is to reach 500,000 by the end of 2023.

Customers can expect to pay from £17 a month (discounted rate) for a symmetric 200Mbps broadband package on an 18-month term (£40 thereafter) and that rises to £49 (£79 thereafter) for their top 830Mbps plan. All packages include a wireless router and free installation.