GoFibre Complete FTTP Broadband Build for Harbottle, Northumberland UK

Edinburgh-based UK ISP GoFibre (BorderLink) has today confirmed that they’ve “completed” their roll-out of a new full fibre (FTTP) broadband network across the rural Northumberland village of Harbottle, which is home to over 250 people and forms part of their £7.3m Project Gigabit delivery contract (here) to cover 3,750 hard-to-reach premises in the county.

The announcement means that around 90 additional premises are now ready to connect to their new FTTP network, which adds to the over 14,300 homes and businesses in the region that can already access GoFibre’s ultra-fast broadband speeds (including 3,700 funded under the Project Gigabit contract). This reflects a big chunk of the 118,000 premises they’ve already covered across the North of England and Scotland.

However, the Harbottle build was not without its challenges, as GoFibre’s engineers had to undertake an extensive civil engineering effort on the north side of the main street, installing new infrastructure where none previously existed. The operator also worked closely with the local authority, national park and residents in order to minimise disruption in the village (e.g. hosting two pre-construction meetings to keep the community informed, sharing updates through the Harbottle newsletters, scheduling the majority of works during school holidays and ensuring access to local amenities during the build).

Andy Hepburn, COO at GoFibre, said:

“We’re absolutely thrilled to share that our full fibre broadband network is now up and running in Harbottle. This wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work and expertise of our fantastic engineers and the support from the local council, National Parks and, of course, the understanding from the wonderful residents of Harbottle. Everyone pulled together to make sure the construction went smoothly and without too much disruption.

We know just how important a fast and reliable connection is for working, studying and staying connected, especially in rural areas. That’s why I’m encouraging everyone in Harbottle to sign up and take advantage of our top-notch broadband service. Let’s continue to bridge the digital divide and build a more connected future for all of us!”

Customers of GoFibre’s network typically pay from £36 per month (currently discounted to £29) for a 150Mbps (30Mbps upload) package on a 24-month term with an included wireless router, which rises to £69 per month (currently discounted to £49) for their top 1000Mbps (100Mbps upload) plan. The latter also comes with a bonus Wi-Fi extender (this can optionally be taken on other plans at extra cost).