Toob Invests GBP7.5m to Build FTTP Broadband Across Fleet

Network builder and UK broadband ISP toob has today announced that they’ve committed £7.5 million to build their new Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network across the Hampshire (South England) town of Fleet, which is expected to result in 19,000 local homes gaining access to their network.

The operator, which was originally backed by £75m from the Amber Infrastructure Group (here) and “up to” £87.5m from the Sequoia Economic Infrastructure Income Fund (here), recently secured £160m of additional funding (debt financing) from Ares Management‘s Infrastructure Debt strategy (here) – this can be upsized up to £300m over time to support future growth opportunities.

Construction on the new network in Fleet is planned to begin within the “coming weeks” and customers can expect it to start going live sometime in 2024. On the surface this deployment looks like a fairly decent bet because Virgin Media (VMO2) are the only gigabit-capable network operator with any significant coverage and, for some reason, not even Openreach currently have plans to expand FTTP further into the area.

However, F&W Networks have been spotted building into the central part of the town, which does suggest that Fleet’s choice of gigabit-capable services may be set to expand.

Nick Parbutt, CEO of toob, said:

“We are delighted that we are going to be able to offer our service to the residents of Fleet. toob has been built on our belief that access to fast, reliable broadband at an affordable price is a necessity in today’s increasingly digital world. We are committed to delivering the fastest and most reliable service, using the latest full-fibre technology, at an affordable price. Customers will benefit from speeds of 900Mbps for only £25 per month on an 18 month contract, with no in-contract price rises. They can rely on toob to provide broadband that simply works.”

Customers of the service typically pay just £25 per month on an 18-month term for their 900Mbps (symmetric speed) package (£29 thereafter), which includes a router, unlimited usage and free installation.