County Broadband Appoint New Contractor for Norfolk FTTP Build

Rural ISP County Broadband, which aims to cover 500,000 premises across the East of England with their new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network by the end of 2027, has appointed civil engineering firm Highway Workforce to help conduct their ongoing rollout across rural parts of Norfolk in England.

The provider, which is being supported by an investment of £146m from Aviva Investors (here), is currently deploying full fibre across rural parts of Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk in England (they’re building to over 220 villages and rising).

The Norfolk build in particular is currently in the process of designing, building and deploying their new FTTP network to over 50 rural communities (from an overall total of around 250), including in the Breckland, Broadland, South Norfolk and North Norfolk areas. This is where the new deal with Highway Workforce will help, with its 70-plus strong team.

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

“The government has set a flagship target to deliver nationwide gigabit-capable speeds across the UK by 2030. It is relying on local firms like County Broadband backed by private investment to roll out the full-fibre infrastructure to achieve its target and boost economic growth.

Through County Broadband’s commercial plans, we can significantly reduce the need for government funded projects in the region, offering the opportunity to save taxpayers tens of millions of pounds at a time of financial constraint.”

The appointment of Highway Workforce complements the appointment of NGE earlier this year as a civil engineering partner to support County Broadband’s wider Norfolk rollout. The new contractor has already started the build phase.