ITS Technology to Build New 50km Newcastle-under-Lyme Fibre Network

The Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council in Staffordshire (England) has recommended that the ITS Technology Group, which operates wholesale full fibre broadband and Ethernet networks (“Faster Britain“) across urban parts of the UK, be appointed to build up to 50km of a new fibre network to help reach poorly served areas.

Most of the market town is already reached by Openreach and Virgin Media’s (VMO2) gigabit-capable broadband ISP networks, but some patches in the central area remain poorly served and that’s where the new network could help. This will seek to connect public sector sites, but would also benefit areas within the town that are not within the scope of digital upgrades from existing network providers.

The project, which is being supported by an allocation of £2.285 million from the Newcastle Town Deal grant monies, is “intended to seek benefits for all businesses and residents of the town centre and along the A34, including the business parks north of the town centre to support the economic development with improved digital connectivity within Newcastle town centre“.

The proposal, which was this week recommended for approval, requires a contractual agreement with ITS Technology for construction and operation of the fibre network. This will include an Indefeasible Right of Use (IRU) agreement to secure for the Council an exclusive and unrestricted ‘right of use’ to access a specified amount of the network’s capacity for 15 years.

Simon Tagg, Council Leader, said:

“Commercial providers cover many areas, but parts of the town centre and outlying business parks can be overlooked, which is why we’re stepping in with this initiative to back communities.

Not only do we want to encourage growth and investment for smaller businesses, but we’re providing residents with the infrastructure they need to improve their day-to-day lives.”

The open access network, which also calls for “digital hubs” to be located in existing community centres/local facilities within the Newcastle Town Deal area, would be accessible to others and could thus provide an opportunity for further private sector investment into local business parks (i.e. there is potential for the Council to realise a modest revenue share from the transit fees charged).

The project is expected to cover multiple Wards that are within the Newcastle Town Deal boundary, namely Crackley and Red Street, Bradwell, Holditch and Chesterton, Wolstanton, Cross Heath, Knuttton, Silverdale, May Bank, Thistleberry, Town, Keele, Westlands, Clayton, Westbury Park and Northwood Park.

The new fibre itself would be delivered by harnessing as much of Openreach’s Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA) product (i.e. running new fibre via their existing cable ducts) as possible to minimise disruptive street works.