RBBS’ New FTTP Broadband Network in Shropshire UK Goes Live

Shrewsbury-based ISP SWS Broadband (aka RBBS – Rural Broadband Solutions Plc), which until recently only served premises in rural parts of Shropshire (England) and Wales with a fixed wireless access network, has announced that the first two locations under their full fibre rollout are now live in Shropshire.

In case anybody has forgotten, RBBS revealed last year that their new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network would aim to cover 50,000 properties within Shropshire by the end of 2024 (here and here). The first two villages to benefit from this work were named as Stiperstones and Woolston (both are already covered by their wireless network).

The provider has thus spent much of the past year building their new fibre infrastructure – underpinned by a 100Gbps capable Dark Fibre network around South Shropshire, which has today finally started to go live in both communities.

Customers in these areas can expect to pay from £26 per month for an unlimited 30Mbps (10Mbps upload) service with free installation on a 24-month term, which rises to £89 per month for their top 900Mbps (300Mbps upload) tier. You can also get symmetric speeds on all of their packages, albeit at extra cost.

Chris New, CEO of RBBS, said:

“We are excited to announce that our first two gigabit capable FTTP networks are now ready for service in the villages of Stiperstones and Woolston, thus enabling 68 premises in deep rural Shropshire to enjoy the benefits of fibre broadband. This is part of a project to connect just under 5,000 properties to our FTTP network before Christmas 2022, with further staged announcements as each location goes live.”

Naturally, the deployment itself doesn’t stop in these locations. SWS/RBBS has also announced that their investment in this area of the county will include the surrounding villages of Habberley and Cardington by the middle of September 2022.