County Broadband Get GBP100m to Extend FTTP in East England

Rural focused UK ISP County Broadband has announced a major £100 million funding boost from existing backer Aviva Investors, which will enable them to target their gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network to cover 500,000 premises across the East of England by the end of 2027.

The provider, which since 2018 has been supported by an initial commitment of £46m from Aviva, is currently building full fibre across various rural parts of Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk (totalling over 150 villages). But the additional £100m will boost their “ambition” to pass half a million homes and businesses by the end of 2027.

However, it would be good to know how much actual build progress CB has made over the past few years, but sadly they haven’t stated how many premises they’ve passed so far and that makes it difficult to judge. Nevertheless, Aviva wouldn’t be ploughing in so much money if they weren’t reasonably confident of the operator’s progress.

As part of this, County Broadband has also set out plans to double its workforce to over 250 and invest in local skills and apprentices whilst engaging with regional suppliers.

Lloyd Felton, Founder and CEO of County Broadband, said:

“We are delighted to announce that County Broadband has secured an additional £100 million in private investment, following our initial £46 million investment from Aviva Investors in 2018. This reaffirms our continued and successful partnership with the Aviva Investors team over the last few years.

We are committed to delivering full-fibre, gigabit-capable broadband to thousands more communities, homes and businesses. Building new broadband infrastructure is a complex task and whilst our plans are ambitious, they are grounded in reality as we understand the importance of delivering on the promises we make.

As we embark on another exciting phase of growth, we will always retain our 18-year heritage as a proud, local community driven provider.”

Sean McLachlan, Senior Director at Aviva Investors, said:

“We are pleased to extend Aviva Investors’ partnership with County Broadband following our initial investment made in 2018. The rollout of fibre to homes and places of work represents a project with high social value and community benefits, particularly as families and businesses settle into hybrid working, where fast and reliable internet connections into the home are increasingly important and relied upon.

The additional commitment we have made will enable County Broadband to extend its rollout to even more communities in the East of England, ensuring those locations are suitably equipped for today’s connected world, whilst also having a positive benefit for our client portfolios.”

Prices for their service may vary between areas, but in most cases new customers will typically pay from £28 per month (excluding discounts) for an unlimited symmetric speed 50Mbps service with a bundled wireless router and free installation, then £48 for 300Mbps, £55 for 600Mbps and £80 for 900Mbps.