Wessex Internet Start Project Gigabit Broadband Build in South Wiltshire UK

Rural broadband ISP Wessex Internet has just started the construction phase of their £18.8m state-aid supported Project Gigabit ‘Lot 30’ contract in South Wiltshire (England), which will see the provider extending their gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network to cover “around” 14,500 hard-to-reach homes and businesses in the area.

The rollout will see the provider expanding its existing full fibre network in the Wylye Valley, going across the Salisbury Plain, connecting villages surrounding Amesbury, and going as far north as Chisbury and Little Bedwyn. The first communities to be connected will be Stapleford, Wylye and Bapton. So far this all appears to be going to schedule, which means the first properties could be connected by around the end of 2024.

The contract was awarded by the government in March 2024 and is due to be delivered over the next 5-years (by around 2029). The infrastructure work that started this week follows six months of detailed planning to design the network route, liaison with landowners and communities in the areas that will be connected, and the opening of a new construction base in Codford, where civils operatives delivering the project are based.

Prices for their full fibre packages start at £29 per month for a 100Mbps (15Mbps upload) tier on a 12-month term, but this only comes with a meagre 100GB data allowance (£44 for unlimited), and you’ll have to pay £49 (one-off) for activation. By comparison, their top unlimited usage plan will give 900Mbps (450Mbps upload) for £79 per month, which isn’t cheap but then they’re often the only FTTP choice in a lot of their locations (rural areas cost a lot more to serve too).

Hector Gibson Fleming, CEO of Wessex Internet, said:

“Wessex Internet is determined to continue our mission delivering ultrafast broadband to rural communities that would otherwise be left behind by traditional providers. Supported by the government’s Project Gigabit, we continue this work at pace, and it’s exciting to see milestones being reached in both our first and one of our newest contract areas.

We will continue working closely with the residents and businesses across these two contract areas, involving them in our planning process and informing them as soon as our future-proofed broadband is available in their communities.”

Sir Chris Bryant, Minister of State for Telecoms, said:

“Connectivity is a vital part of modern life, for individuals, families, communities, businesses and government. I’m delighted that months of hard work are now paying dividends in South Wiltshire where villages that were once cut off will soon be able to access state of the art broadband.”

The provider also issued an update on their first £6m Project Gigabit contract in North Dorset (Lot 14.01), which aims to reach 7,100 premises in rural parts of the area by around 2025 (here). The good news is that their North Dorset build has now reached 50% completion and is expected to finish “within the next two years“. Some of the most recent villages to be connected include Kington Magna, Buckland Newton and Holwell.