AltNet Smartfibre Broadband to Expand UK FTTP Rollout

A small alternative network provider called Smartfibre, which until now has managed to slip under our radar, has revealed that they’re tentatively planning to expand the reach of their gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP network to homes and businesses across more of the UK.

According to their website, Smartfibre is a “privately funded company established 20 years ago” that was an “early adopter of Voip technology, then fibre technology, and now runs about 1/3 of London’s creative sectors fibre connectivity in commercial studio and office complexes“. The Companies House entry for this business notes that they were incorporated in April 2000 and, until recently, were better known as SMARTINFO LIMITED.

However, more recently they appear to have branched out by starting a small FTTP deployment across the East Sussex (England) town of Wadhurst – supported by the gigabit voucher scheme, which eventually aims to cover most of the area. The operator’s 1st, 2nd and 3rd phase postcodes include: TN5 6BF, TN5 6DB, TN5 6DD, TN5 6DE, TN5 6DG, TN5 6DH, TN5 6DL, TN5 6DQ, TN5 6HT, TN5 6HU, TN5 6HY, TN5 6HZ and TN5 6RG.

The good news is that Smartfibre are now planning to expand beyond this area and are thus seeking Code Powers from Ofcom, although it’s unclear where they intend to deploy next. Such powers are typically sought to help speed-up deployments of new fibre and cut costs, not least by reducing the number of licenses needed for street works. The powers can also help facilitate access to run their own fibre via Openreach’s existing cable ducts and poles (PIA).

Customers of the service typically pay from £40 per month for a 100Mbps package, which rises to £65 for 800Mbps, although their website is somewhat vague in terms of package details.