Guernsey ISP Sure Extend 1Gb FTTP Broadband to 9,000 Homes

The States of Guernsey has confirmed that their joint £37.5m project with incumbent broadband ISP Sure, which aims to build a new Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network across the entire English Channel Island of Guernsey (30,000 premises) by the end of 2026, is running ahead of schedule and has now covered 9,000 homes.

The project was first launch back in October 2021, with the first build (beyond the pilot phase of 1,800 homes) being expected to begin around April 2022. Since then, they’ve managed to extend their full fibre coverage to reach 9,000 homes and 3,000 properties have already connected (impressive take-up, but then it is quite a captive market).

Approximately 80 jobs have been created locally to implement this major digital infrastructure development plan, and Sure will look to retire their older copper-based network once the new fibre has been fully deployed (but we expect the process will start much sooner than that). Previously, locals only had access to an “up to” 100Mbps capable Fibre-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC / VDSL) network.

Residential packages on the new network start at £43 per month for a basic 30Mbps (3Mbps upload) plan, which rises to £52 for 50Mbps (5Mbps up), £58 for 100Mbps (10Mbps up), £69 for 300Mbps (30Mbps up) and £126 for 1000Mbps (50Mbps up). Suffice to say, it’s not particularly cheap compared with the UK market and upload performance is surprisingly poor, but then competition remains an issue for the island.