Alncom Prep £1.4m FTTP Broadband Build in Rothbury, Northumberland

Rural gigabit broadband ISP Alncom has today announced that they’re working on a £1.4m project to extend their Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network to cover over 200 of the hardest to reach premises in and around the remote town of Rothbury in Northumberland (England), which aims to tackle areas that are still “unable to access ultrafast broadband“.

In fact, Alncom’s network already reaches into central Rothbury, although their new roll-out looks to be targeting some of the more isolated properties. We should add that Openreach (BT) and the Fusion Fibre Group (formerly FACTCO) also have some FTTP coverage of the town and its surrounding areas.

The operator, which will need to navigate many challenges during its expansion (e.g. narrow roads, streams, ancient monuments and sites of special scientific interest), added that they would also provide free public WiFi across the town centre and community halls as part of this roll-out.

The build itself is due to begin sometime this summer (2025) and will then take around 12-months to complete.

Stephen Pinchen, MD of Alncom, said:

“We plan to start in the summer of 2025 with the build taking around 12 months. Ultrafast broadband is now a vital part of everyday life and as a company, we have been heavily focussed on being able to deliver this roll-out to the people and businesses who have been left behind. It has taken a lot of planning and negotiation, working closely with BDUK to get our teams into these harder to reach and more isolated homes and commercial premises.”

County Councillor. Steven Bridgett. said:

“I am over the moon that our most remote and hardest to reach properties are finally being given the attention they deserve. This is long overdue! Alncom have helped play a key role in highlighting this. So I am very pleased that they have been awarded the contract to ensure everyone can benefit from the fastest internet speeds no matter where they live in Coquetdale. The addition of a free public WiFi system for residents and visitors to Rothbury can only serve to enhance Rothbury’s offering. With the added bonus that the installation of a new free WiFi system in the centre of Rothbury will also benefit our Christmas lights with new electricity points. This is a win all round for Rothbury and the Coquet Valley.”

The provider itself is currently aiming to build their full fibre network to cover 50,000 premises across the North East of England (they’ve already done well over half that) – mostly in rural parts of Northumberland, County Durham and the Scottish Borders – and they also have an existing Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) network.