Digital Infrastructure Boosts UK FTTP Rollout with Supply Deal

Network operator Digital Infrastructure (DI), which is being supported by broadband ISP BeFibre, has today announced that they’ve signed a new multi-year partnership with global supply chain solutions provider Wesco Anixter to support their ongoing UK rollout of a new gigabit speed Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network.

The operator, which began its rollout in 2021 and aims to cover 1 million premises across 80 UK towns and cities by the end of 2027 (here), has so far created an initial rollout plan to reach 400,000 premises. In terms of actual build, in June 2023 they claimed to have already covered 100,000 premises (Ready for Service) and were selling across more than 30 of the country’s towns and cities (e.g. Crewe, Brentwood, Worcester, Clacton on Sea etc.).

At present, DI still anticipates that their build areas will double by the end of 2023 (c. 60 areas) and today’s deal with Wesco Anixter aims to support that. Under the agreement, Wesco Anixter will provide end-to-end supply chain management expertise, as well as cost-effective deployment, passive infrastructure provisioning, inventory control, delivery of all installation materials, and strategic sourcing expertise to help DI manage spend within its supply chain.

BeFibre will also receive support from Wesco Anixter as part of the contract agreement, allowing the retail ISP to focus on the “final mile” of delivery and consumer uptake of the network.

Paul Doyle, CEO at Digital Infrastructure and BeFibre, said:

“As we continue to scale at pace, our partnership with Wesco Anixter will enable us to strategically expand our full fibre rollout with their end-to-end supply chain expertise as well being able to offer us the right product at the right time.”

Customers of BeFibre tend to pay from £29 per month on a 24-month term for an unlimited 150Mbps (symmetric) package with free installation, which rises to just £49 for their top 900Mbps tier. Most of their fastest tiers also give new customers the option of taking either a Weber® Go-Anywhere BBQ (RRP £111.99) or £75 Amazon voucher.