Truespeed, which is rolling out fiber to the premises (FTTP) infrastructure in the southwest of England, says it has received a second funding tranche from Aviva Investors. The £100 million ($135.5 million) will enable Truespeed to expand its FTTP network in urban, semi-rural, ultra-rural markets.
The new funding comes after an original £75 million ($101.6 million) investment Aviva Investors made in 2017. Truespeed’s full fiber deployments have picked up speed in the past year, resulting in a doubling of its gigabit-capable FTTP infrastructure in underserved Somerset rural and city communities. Other initiatives have seen fiber reach the company’s headquarters city of Bath as well as Wells. Truespeed also announced last month the start of full fiber construction in Glastonbury, Shepton Mallet, and Street.
“We are delighted that our continuing relationship with Aviva Investors has provided this next tranche of investment. This will allow us to significantly accelerate our roll-out, enabling us to connect more customers to our ultrafast, ultra-reliable full-fiber service,” commented James Lowther, Truespeed’s CEO. “Credit to my predecessor Evan Wienburg and the great team here at Truespeed for the hard work undertaken to get us to this point. We are now an established and fast-growing employer in the region with a reputation for excellent staff training and personal development. It is a privilege to lead the business as we embark on our next phase of growth.”
“Since our initial investment in 2017, Truespeed has continued to successfully deliver essential gigabit-capable broadband infrastructure to under-served locations across the South West of the UK,” added Sean McLachlan, senior director, infrastructure, at Aviva Investors. “This second tranche of funding reflects our belief that the company and its activities not only represent a sound investment, but also creates significant social benefits for local communities across the country. We look forward to continuing to support Truespeed and furthering the roll out of its network build and award-winning service.”
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Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
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