80 Percent of Stoke Covered by Freedom Fibre’s FTTP Broadband

ISP LilaConnect, which following the VX FIBER UK acquisition is now part of Freedom Fibre‘s gigabit-capable full fibre (FTTP) broadband network (here), has today revealed that their fibre coverage in the Staffordshire (England) city of Stoke-on-Trent has now expanded to pass 80% of local premises (103,784).

The was made possible by the completion of a related 113km long full-fibre network under the Silicon Stoke project, which has been laid right across Stoke-on-Trent. The infrastructure provider that was awarded this contract by the UK Government was VX FIBER UK, with LilaConnect as its ISP. As above, VXF merged with Freedom Fibre earlier this year.

Just to be clear. Under the original agreement, VXF was contracted to build and operate the infrastructure, while the city network (Stoke’s Private Optical Network) would be owned by the council. VXF also invested their own money to extend this to cover local homes and businesses. Overall, £9.2m came from the Government’s Local Full Fibre Network (LFFN) scheme for the Dark Fibre and public sector build, while VXF put in £10m.

At this point it’s worth noting that, while it’s a wonderful achievement to have covered 80% of the city, the original announcement several years ago did say it was “expected that the whole city will be covered by the network within three years” (at the time this indicated a completion by October 2022). Put another way, they’ve yet to reach c.100,000 premises (100%) and have taken longer than expected, but building FTTP is rarely easy.

Jan Lange, MD at LilaConnect, said:

“To reach 80% of premises being able to connect to our full-fibre network in Stoke-on-Trent is a milestone to be celebrated and is a testament to the dedication and collaborative teams in Stoke-on-Trent. We remain steadfast in our vision to provide all Stoke-on-Trent residents and businesses with first-class gigabit full fibre broadband that is future-proofed for decades to come.”

Councillor Finlay Gordon-McCusker, Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said:

“A full-fibre gigabit broadband is no longer a ‘nice-to-have’ for any city in the UK that is committed to digital transformation, it’s now a must. Only by having the infrastructure in place can you truly ensure that the residential and commercial premises are future-proofed which will enable them to continuously thrive and grow. This is why we have remained resolute in our commitment to achieving the ambitious goals laid out in the Silicon Stoke prospectus.”

Residential packages from LilaConnect typically start at £24.98 per month on a 24-month term for speeds of 250Mbps, which rises to £34.98 for 1Gbps or £69.98 for their top 2.5Gbps plan. But take note that the 2.5Gbps service appears to attract an additional one-off “startup cost” of £99.98.

At present the VXF linked network areas, which reflects their original footprint across Stoke-on-Trent, Bristol, Colchester, Wivenhoe, Crewe, Nantwich, Leek and Uttoxeter, are still not fully merged into the wider Freedom Fibre footprint. As a result, if you want to access this FTTP network in those areas, then LilaConnect still seems to be the main option.