ISP Giganet Confirms FTTP Broadband Rollout in Storrington

Fern Trading-backed broadband ISP Giganet (Cuckoo), which is investing £250m to build a new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network across the South of England, has today confirmed that they’re investing £20m to reach more than 18,500 homes in Hurstpierpoint and Storrington (West Sussex).

The operator’s current plan is to cover a total of 300,000 premises across poorly served parts of Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire and West Sussex (here). As part of that they’ve already announced builds for locations such as Wimborne, Ferndown, Ringwood, Fordingbridge, Henfield, Hythe, Totton, Fair Oak, Tadley, Marlborough and Devizes etc.

However, Giganet has today confirmed that their builds across Hurstpierpoint (this one was previously announced) and Storrington officially began this summer, with an aim to connect its first homes in phases over the next 18 months. More than 120 jobs are expected to be created in the process. The overall project is expected to reach completion in early 2024.

Kevin Barry, Chief Network Build Officer at Giganet, said:

“This is an exciting chapter for Giganet as we bring West Sussex’s smaller communities up to speed with full fibre services. Over the last few years there’s been a surge in demand for faster, more reliable broadband. For us this also means providing customers with an offering that’s grounded in honesty and simplicity – from flexible contracts to no exit fees.

While we can expect some short-term disruption from the build, this will benefit the local area tremendously in the long-term. Large or small, we’re connecting communities and making sure that no one is left behind.”

One catch here is that Giganet will face some competition from gigabit-capable rivals. For example, Trooli is already actively busy building across Storrington and Openreach also have plans to expand their FTTP network into the town.