LilaConnect Extend FTTP Broadband Network in Staffordshire UK
Alternative broadband provider LilaConnect, which following the recent VXFIBER acquisition is now part of UK network operator Freedom Fibre (here), has announced that they’ve expanded the live coverage of their existing full fibre (FTTP) networks in the Staffordshire (England) city of Stoke-on-Trent and the town of Leek.
According to the latest progress update, over the next twelve weeks more than 6,900 additional homes and businesses across Leek, as well as Etruria, Cliffe Vale and Shelton in Stoke-on-Trent, will be able to connect to LilaConnect’s gigabit full-fibre broadband network.
The expansion marks an important development for LilaConnect as it comes after the network’s previous owner, VXFIBER, suffered a number of redundancies last year and had to “pause further deployment[s] to focus on commercialising the fibre already laid” (here). But the Freedom Fibre merger changed all that, and the rollout is now expanding again.
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The combined coverage of Freedom Fibre’s various open access Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP networks is now 300,000 UK premises (up from 285k in Dec 2023).
Jan Lange, MD of LilaConnect, said:
“We are proud to be switching on the new LilaConnect gigabit full fibre network across additional premises in both Leek and Stoke-on-Trent. It will enable more businesses and residents in Staffordshire to take advantage of the best-in-class full-fibre internet connectivity, ensuring they can access a broadband service that’s not only lightning-fast, but stable, secure, and reliable. These are all essential features that help businesses to flourish and residents to thrive in today’s digital age.
This is the next step in our investment into the Staffordshire area. It’s a big leap forward in our progress to ensure that the whole region can benefit from first-class connectivity that is future-proofed for the decades to come.”
Residential customers can expect to pay from just £24.98 per month on a 24-month term for a 250Mbps speed broadband package (plus £49 one-off for installation), which rises to £34.98 per month for their 1Gbps package.
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads.net and Linkedin.
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So they over built Full Fibre in Leek instead of expanding out from Uttoxeter to Burton which has no alt net at all.
Its so frustrating seeing all these providers over building each other when there are places within reach that literally have no competition.
Shame freedom fibre/ VX couldn’t see the commercial opportunities there were in the other Lila areas they shut down and made many experienced and good people redundant just before Christmas! Thousands wasted on infrastructure that will never be made live.
In Uttoxeter and 18 months signed up with Lila and still no date to complete our area. Discussions on Facebook seem to say it isn’t in Uttoxeter yet and yet they weee digging up our street back in 2021.
Would like to here what Lila connect have to say to the press because their silence is deafening in Uttoxeter
I think they sold their network in Uttoxeter to Virgin. I saw the guys laying the cables for Lila, even had a chat with them. Then about 6 months later I had a leaflet saying Virgin was now available. I never once saw a single Virgin van or anyone from Virgin laying cables.
Virgin is now available in 95% of Uttoxeter and Lila still isn’t available anyway according to both Thinkbroadband Maps and the Lila and Virgin websites!