GoFibre Begin FTTP Broadband Build for Ovington in County Durham

Edinburgh-based UK alternative network ISP GoFibre has today announced that they’ve begun to expand their new full fibre (FTTP) broadband network into the rural village of Ovington in County Durham, which forms part of their state aid supported Project Gigabit contract with the government (this also includes nearby villages such as Hutton Magna and Gainford).

Just to recap. The Government’s £5bn Project Gigabit programme is currently working to extend 1Gbps download speeds (200Mbps+ uploads) to reach “nationwide” coverage (c. 99%) by around 2030. As part of that, GoFibre secured two smaller local deployment contracts for Teesdale (Lot 4.01) and North Northumberland (Lot 34.01) in North England.

The contract for Teesdale is currently worth £6.98m (state aid) and aims to help extend GoFibre’s new Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network to an additional 4,441 premises in hard-to-reach areas. Once the latest build is complete, 69 properties across Ovington Lane and Clifford’s View – as well as local areas around the village green and the road leading to Clifford Farm – will have the opportunity to experience significantly faster and more reliable connections. GoFibre currently has more than 5,000 premises ready for service across Durham and Teesdale, which includes commercial builds.

GoFibre will be hosting two events locally. The first will take place on Wednesday, 15th January from 6pm to 8pm at Hutton Magna Village Hall, and the second event will be on Tuesday, 4th February from 6pm to 8pm at Ovington Village Hall. Representatives from the government’s Building Digital UK (BDUK) agency and Durham County Council’s Digital Durham team will also be in attendance to support the event.

Andy Hepburn, Chief Operating Officer at GoFibre, said:

“We’ve heard loud and clear from the community that better broadband is a top priority, and we’re excited to bring our full-fibre network to the people of Ovington.

We know the transformative impact that reliable high-speed broadband brings for communities that haven’t traditionally had access to such a service so we’re looking forward to seeing the build complete and building positive relationships with local people along the way.

I’d encourage everyone to come along to one of our Ovington events so we can say hello, answer your questions, and help you get started with GoFibre.”

Cllr Susan McDonnell, Durham County Council, said:

“It’s fantastic that even more homes and businesses in rural parts of County Durham will soon be experiencing the many benefits of full-fibre broadband.

Having access to a fast and stable broadband connection can make such a positive difference to our lives, supporting people to work from home, shop, study and run a business. It also helps people to stay connected with friends and family, which can be especially important for those living in more isolated locations. We would encourage residents to come along to the events to find out more.”

The village’s build actually started in mid-December 2024 and the aim is to start connecting their first customers to the new network by February 2025, with the entire project slated for completion by March 2025. While most works are non-intrusive, traffic management will be in place as GoFibre installs a new duct from Hutton Magna to Ovington, potentially causing some road disruption.

Customers of the new service can expect to pay from £25 per month for a 150Mbps (30Mbps upload) package on a 24-month term with an included wireless router, which rises to £39.50 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).