RBBS Get £75m to Build FTTP Broadband Across Shropshire and Wales

Rural Broadband Solutions Plc (RBBS), which via ISP SWS Broadband serves UK homes in rural parts of Shropshire (England) and Wales via both wireless and full fibre (FTTP) connectivity, has today announced that they’ve secured a huge investment of £75m from Tiger Infrastructure Partners to extend their coverage.

The company originally revealed last year that their new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network build 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 were previously covered by their fixed wireless access network), which have been followed by Habberley and Cardington.

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. But the new investment from Tiger Infrastructure has enabled them to accelerate their plans and expand their coverage goals.

As of this morning, RBBS / SWS now aims to create a “contiguous” network initially covering approximately 100,000 remote premises in small towns around Shropshire and Wales “where full fibre connectivity is currently unavailable” (i.e. those defined by Ofcom as being within their ‘Area 3‘ designation for non-competitive locations). Such areas are often eligible for public subsidy and voucher schemes.

Christopher New, CEO of RBBS, added:

“We were seeking a financial partner who shared our vision to deploy full fibre to our communities. We believe Tiger Infrastructure is a like-minded investor whose expertise and capital will assist us in making RBBS a leader in our niche. With Tiger Infrastructure’s investment, RBBS is well-positioned to help communities in Shropshire and Wales solve the immediate and growing requirement for reliable, gigabit-capable connectivity.”

Emil W. Henry, Jr., CEO of Tiger Infrastructure, added:

“RBBS, with its track record of operating a high-quality Fixed Wireless Access network and deploying full fibre in challenging areas, represents an ideal partner for Tiger Infrastructure to enter a sector experiencing strong tailwinds. We have the opportunity to invest alongside the UK government to meet the needs of rural households and small businesses that, despite strong growth in data consumption, remain served by significantly slower and less reliable copper lines or Fibre-to-the-Cabinet.

Having followed the UK fibre sector for many years, we were impressed by the quality and investment discipline of RBBS’ management team, and look forward to partnering with them to deliver best-in-class infrastructure and service to rural communities.”

The announcement doesn’t mention whether the target date for completing this “initial” deployment is still 2024 or if they’ve shifted that, but it appears to be a significant development, particularly for a rural county like Shropshire.

Customers in these areas usually 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.