F&W Networks Get £25m to Expand Full Fibre in South England

Network operator and builder F&W Networks – supported by their UK retail ISP Hey! Broadband – has today secured a significant £25m funding package from Santander, which will enable them to expand the rollout of their gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) infrastructure across the South of England.

The Altrincham-based operator, which has long held an aspiration to cover over 1 million UK premises by 2025, has so far been spotted deploying their “full fibre” networks across parts of several counties including West Sussex (Horsham and Southwater), Oxfordshire, Greater London, Buckinghamshire (Gerrards Cross, Chalfont Saint Peter, High Wycombe and Beaconsfield), Hertfordshire (Hemel Hempstead) and Surrey (Godalming) etc.

According to today’s announcement, the operator claims to have already covered 150,000 homes with their network and the new £25 million package from Santander will enable them to deploy FTTP into additional “mid-size cities and rural areas” within the UK.

Suffice to say, we wouldn’t be surprised to see some new rollout announcements from the operator in the not-too-distant future. Speaking of which, we note that they’re currently examining the potential to deploy into the communities of Frieth, Stokenchurch, Slinfold and Elstead.

Jonathan Corcoran, Director, Specialised and Project Finance at Santander UK, said:

“We are delighted to provide F&W Networks with this £25m funding package. Santander UK is proud to support companies like F&W Networks that are playing a crucial role in connecting homes, businesses, and other key organisations with full fibre technology throughout the UK.”

Once live, customers can expect unlimited packages that cost from £23 per month for 100Mbps (50Mbps upload) with free installation (inc. WiFi 6 router) on a 24-month term, which rises to just £35 for their top 900Mbps (symmetric) package (returns to £43 after the first 24-months). Hey! also pledges no mid-contract price hikes.