London-based fiber broadband provider Community Fibre says it has doubled its fiber to the premises (FTTP) target for the city to 2.2 million homes and businesses passed by the end of 2024. Such a total would represent more than half of London’s 3.7 million homes, the network operator and ISP asserts.
Community Fibre says its FTTP infrastructure already passes 435,000 homes and businesses in the London boroughs of Barnet, Brent, Bexley, Bromley, Camden, City of London, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Kingston upon Thames, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Newham, Richmond upon Thames, Southwark, Sutton, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Wandsworth and Westminster. The use of existing ducts and poles should make the new fiber broadband network deployments relatively quick and straightforward, the company states.
“The last two years have been a challenge for everyone, which is why it is more important than ever that we are focused on giving the communities in London the connectivity they need,” commented Graeme Oxby, CEO at Community Fibre. “We have seen significant progress in our roll-out and will be continuing to ramp this up in the next three years, bringing our 100% full fiber broadband to almost two-thirds of London’s citizens and businesses.
“We are working closely with landlords and councils to install better broadband across London and we have increased our commitment to making London gigabit-capable. And by putting our fiber network through the existing ducts under London’s streets and pavements rather than digging trenches, our build is less disruptive than that of some other operators for residents and road users alike,” Oxby added.
“I welcome Community Fibre’s additional investment in our digital infrastructure, which will give Londoners faster internet speeds and support new jobs and growth,” said Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London. “It forms part of wider plans led by my Digital Inclusion Taskforce to bridge the digital divide through reliable and affordable connectivity, access to devices, and skills training.”
Community Fibre offers services of up to 10 Gbps for businesses and up to 3 Gbps for residential customers.
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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.
You can connect with Stephen on LinkedIn as well as Twitter.