GoFibre Start Project Gigabit Broadband Build in Rural Northumberland

Independent UK rural broadband ISP GoFibre (BorderLink) has this morning announced that they’ve begun the building phase of their £7.3m state-aid supported Project Gigabit broadband rollout contract for North Northumberland (England), which will aim to upgrade over 3,750 hard-to-reach premises.

After spending over six months planning and surveying for the build phase (here), Edinburgh-based GoFibre can finally reveal that the first homes and businesses across Berwick-upon-Tweed, Seahouses, Wooler, Belford and neighbouring communities will get access to gigabit-capable FTTP broadband from as early as autumn 2023. The full rollout phase will then run until completion in 2025.

The new build will complement the operator’s existing plan to deploy a Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network across 500,000 premises in the North of England and Scottish Borders by around the end of 2025, which is being supported by a huge investment of £164m from Gresham House (here).

GoFibre has previously also secured the Project Gigabit contract for Teesdale (Lot 4.01), which entered the build phase in April 2023 and will cover a similar number of premises (here).

Neil Conaghan, CEO of GoFibre, said:

“We have been busy engaging with rural-based residents and businesses across the north of England and the demand for full fibre connectivity couldn’t be higher. In some of these areas a working Smart TV is out of the question, which so many of us take for granted, because the digital speeds and reliability aren’t there.

These communities are at real risk of being left behind and so we are thrilled to be addressing the rural digital divide head-on with our North Northumberland build officially underway. By way of our partnership with the UK government and Northumberland County Council, we are implementing a future-proof network which will equip these locations with the tools required to drive innovation and success.

We are grateful for residents’ patience and understanding during the construction phase and we look forward to them experiencing the great benefits of full fibre connectivity later this year.”

Minister for Data and Digital Infrastructure, Sir John Whittingdale, said:

“The government’s flagship £5bn Project Gigabit scheme is bringing fast, reliable connectivity to every corner of the UK. Whether in towns, cities, or rural communities like North Northumberland, it’s vital that everyone has access to a modern digital infrastructure which unlocks opportunity and fuels growth.

GoFibre’s work will do exactly that – boosting connectivity for more than 3,750 hard-to-reach premises in the region with the first connections coming online later this year.”

Customers of the new service can expect to pay from £36 per month for a 100Mbps package on a 24-month term with an included wireless router, which rises to £69 per month for their top 1000Mbps plan. The latter also comes with a bonus Wi-Fi extender (this can optionally be taken on other plans for just £5 per month extra).