Grain Bringing UK Full Fibre Broadband Network to Long Eaton in Derbyshire

Carlisle-based alternative broadband ISP Grain (Grain Connect), which has already built their point-to-point full fibre (FTTP) network to cover 270,000 UK premises (aiming for 600,000 in the future) and in 2025 secured a £225m funding boost (here), has issued a brief update to confirm that the Derbyshire (England) town of Long Eaton will be the next to get their network.

At present Long Eaton, which is home to a population of around 38,000, is already well covered by two gigabit-capable broadband networks from the major national operators – Openreach and Virgin Media (inc. nexfibre). But outside that there’s only a little bit of coverage from alternative networks (e.g. a small bit via Hyperoptic), which makes it potentially much more viable for a disruptive altnet to enter and undercut the big boys.

Sadly, Grain hasn’t revealed precisely how many premises they intend to cover in the city or when their build will complete, although they do confirm that the roll-out is underway. A quick look at the local Street Works data confirms that their engineers are currently most active around the centre of the town, such as between Granville Avenue and Walton Street north of Derby Road, as well as King Street to the south etc.

The company’s CEO, Richard Cameron, simply said: “We’re excited to offer Long Eaton residents an internet service that can keep up with their digital lives.” Customers that sign-up early will benefit from a special Full Fibre deal priced from just £5 per month, as well as free installation and a commitment to “no in-contract price rises“.