News: CityFibre gets to work in Wath

Work to upgrade the digital foundations in parts of North Rotherham with fast, reliable and future-proof full fibre network connectivity is now underway after CityFibre, the UK’s largest independent full fibre platform, started construction works in the Swinton area.

CityFibre is investing £31.2m in bringing this new technology to local homes and businesses, providing them with access to a network that has been designed to serve their growing data needs for decades to come.

Locally, the rollout is being completed by Heneghan & Sons who will work closely with CityFibre and Rotherham Council to ensure any disruption is managed safely and efficiently. Typically, teams will only remain in each area for a few days at a time, and residents will be contacted ahead of any work starting.

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Charles Kitchin, CityFibre’s Partnership Manager for Wath upon Dearne, said: “I’m immensely excited and proud to see work getting underway in Wath upon Dearne as it gets ready to thrive in the digital age. It’s important to remember that any short-term disruption will pay off tremendously in the long-term - once the network’s built, it will serve the community’s connectivity needs for years to come.”

Full fibre networks use 100% fibre optics to carry data at light speed all the way from the home to the point of connection. This gives users speeds of up to 1,000 Mbps for upload and download, near limitless bandwidth and reliable connectivity.   

A full fibre connection also goes far beyond simply enabling access to the latest entertainment at lightning speed. Full fibre boosts households and businesses, with experts saying it will drive a range of economic benefits, such as making us more productive and innovative. 

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When the new network goes live in Wath upon Dearne, customers will be able to access full fibre enabled services via a choice of providers, including CityFibre’s UK launch partner, Vodafone, on selected Vodafone Pro Broadband plans, TalkTalk, Zen, and Giganet with other providers expected to join the network soon.  

CityFibre began work in the borough back in 2020 after Rotherham was included in the second phase of rollouts extending CityFibre's Gigabit City programme.

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News: CityFibre highlights broadband boost for borough

A new report commissioned by CityFibre, the UK’s largest independent full fibre platform, has found that Rotherham will reap major economic benefits from the roll out of a faster and more reliable full fibre network.

The study by the consultancy Hatch estimates that, over a fifteen-year period, the positive impacts of CityFibre’s £29m investment in Rotherham will include £284m in productivity and innovation gains, £62m from a widened workforce, £17m in local authority efficiency savings and £145m in increased housing value.

CityFibre confirmed a £29m investment in Rotherham in 2020. Areas on the rollout map include a large area around central Rotherham plus Aston, Catcliffe, Dinnington, Maltby, Thorpe Hesley, Treeton, Wales and Wath upon Dearne.

Network construction is also predicted to create new jobs within CityFibre’s build partners and supply chain, which will also generate a boost in economic value as most will be recruited locally to support the rollout.

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Hybrid and flexible working, supported by full fibre access at home and in the office, is also unlocking access to a larger pool of talent for employers. In Rotherham this widening of the workforce is expected to unleash £62m in benefits while the productivity boost enabled by flexible working is estimated to exceed £16m.

Technological benefits are also a major focus of the report, which demonstrates that CityFibre’s network in Rotherham will help unlock £675m in growth value from 5G services, £259m from the Internet of Things and £119m from Smart City initiatives, like intelligent traffic management systems and street lighting.

The UK, as a whole, stands to benefit from over £38bn in potential economic benefits. Productivity improvements and innovation are responsible for the largest impact, contributing more than £22bn in economic value nationwide. Faster and more reliable digital connectivity boosts business productivity and innovation, increasing turnover and contributing to the formation of new businesses and business models.

Natalie Ward, Area Manager for Rotherham at CityFibre, said: “We are extremely proud of how our full fibre rollout is progressing in Rotherham. Full fibre has far-reaching benefits, encouraging growth while simultaneously providing the platform needed for innovation and investment. The report demonstrates this, as well as the tangible benefits full fibre can bring, and I look forward to witnessing the positive impact on Rotherham’s residents and businesses in the years to come.”

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News: First Rotherham residents experience Full Fibre benefits as CityFibre project progresses

Rotherham’s Full Fibre network rollout has reached another milestone, with the first residents now connected.

CityFibre is investing £29m to bring the fastest and most reliable digital connectivity to the town. Construction work began in July 2020 and, once complete, the network will be within reach of almost every home and property in Rotherham.

The network is now completed in parts of Kimberworth, Bradgate and Deepdale, with the first customers now live and able to access gigabit-capable internet services. The first ISP to offer services on Rotherham’s CityFibre network is purebroadband.

Adam Roebuck, the first resident to sign-up for purebroadband’s gigabit-speed broadband, said: “I’ve probably got the fastest broadband in Rotherham and I love it. When I first heard CityFibre were building a new broadband network across the city, I couldn’t wait. I registered my interest on the CityFibre website and even sent a few emails just to ask about when it might be coming.

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“I’m over the moon with the speed and reliability of the service as my previous 4Mbps connection struggled to manage multiple devices, especially at peak times. I went with the 200Mbps upload and download service and even with all nine of my devices connected I have never dropped under 190Mbps!”

Natalie Ward, City Manager at CityFibre, added: “I was so pleased for Adam when I heard he was going to be our first customer in Rotherham. He immediately recognised how transformational a Full Fibre connection can be and so it’s fantastic that he is now reaping the benefits.

“People just can’t believe how much faster it is, both for downloading and uploading, and what they are set to gain from the increased reliability.”

As progress continues, CityFibre is committed to keeping local businesses and residents fully up to date on plans for each community, as well as highlighting the benefits that access to full fibre will bring to all.

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News: CityFibre extends reach

CityFibre has identified 216 additional towns and villages that are to benefit from a Full Fibre rollout, completing the list of locations in its £4 billion nationwide investment programme.

CityFibre's Gigabit City programme has already reached Rotherham.

The leading designer, builder, owner, and operator of fibre optic infrastructure in UK towns and cities provides an alternative to BT Openreach.

CityFibre confirmed last year that a £29m investment in the borough would start in the Kimberworth area.

The latest build plans show the majority of Rotherham in CityFibre's phase 1, with Aston, Catcliffe, Dinnington, Kilnhurst, Kiveton Park, Maltby, Swinton, Thorpe Hesley, Treeton, Wales and Wath in phase 2.

The scale of CityFibre’s rollout has been made possible by the favourable regulatory environment established by Ofcom to encourage infrastructure competition, making it quicker and easier to deploy Full Fibre networks. It is expected that Ofcom’s imminent market review will support competition in the sector as the key to investment as industry accelerates to meet Government’s 2025 target.

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The nationwide build programme is expected to be substantially completed by 2025 and will address approximately a third of the UK market including up to 8 million homes, 800,000 businesses, 400,000 public sector sites and 250,000 5G access points. This will make it the largest independent Full Fibre platform in the country.

CityFibre’s strategic partners Vodafone, TalkTalk and Zen are already targeting the rapidly expanding footprint and a growing number of regional and local ISPs are offering affordable, reliable and symmetrical gigabit-speed Full Fibre broadband.

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Greg Mesch, CEO at CityFibre said: "We’re delighted to welcome so many new towns, villages and communities to our Full Fibre rollout programme. By 2025, our world-class digital infrastructure will be within reach of nearly a third of the UK market, connecting homes, businesses, schools and hospitals, and supporting 5G mobile networks. This is clear proof of the benefits of digital infrastructure competition.

“We have seen huge enthusiasm and early success from our ISP partners, both large and small. Together we’re maximising the potential of a new infrastructure build programme to stimulate demand and drive take-up. Building the network is the first step. It’s only through the use of this world-class Full Fibre infrastructure that we can derive the maximum benefit for our economic recovery and future success.”

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News: CityFibre jobs boost in Rotherham

Having recently broken ground on a full fibre network that will reach almost every home and business in Rotherham, recruitment is ramping up to support the project.

Construction partner, Heneghan's, are seeking to develop its growing team, as they continue to roll out infrastructure in Doncaster and Rotherham on behalf of CityFibre.

A Recruitment Open Day has been organised for Saturday October 3 to promote the employment opportunities that are available working in Rotherham and Doncaster.

Roles include Civil Operatives, Fibre Engineers, Underground Operatives, Overground Operatives, Supervisors and more.

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Opportunities are available for experienced construction workers and for professionals seeking career changes and training opportunities.  To register your interest or apply online please go to https://buildthenetwork.cityfibre.com/

The £29m private investment from CityFibre, the UK's third national digital infrastructure platform, will futureproof Rotherham’s digital infrastructure and provide residents and businesses with access to reliable, high speed and high capacity full fibre broadband.

Capable of Gigabit speeds (1,000 Mbps), full fibre can do much more than simply help households access the latest entertainment at lightning speed and stream from multiple devices with ease. It is a key enabler for smart home technology, supports seamless home working and lays the foundations for smart city initiatives.

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News: Broadband boost for borough

Two infrastructure firms have confirmed plans to improve fibre broadband in Rotherham, investing millions in the borough.

CityFibre is well underway to build a full fibre network that will reach almost every home and business in the town.

Meanwhile, Openreach has also outlined plans to make ultra-reliable and gigabit-capable full fibre broadband available to homes and businesses in further parts of the borough.

Rothbiz reported in 2019 that Rotherham was included in the second phase of rollouts extending CityFibre's Gigabit City programme.

The leading designer, builder, owner, and operator of fibre optic infrastructure in UK towns and cities provides an alternative to BT Openreach.

CityFibre has now confirmed a contractor for the £29m investment with Heneghan's starting work in the Kimberworth area.

The full fibre network is not yet live, but once activated, services will be available from an increasing range of broadband providers. Across the UK, CityFibre is already working with launch partner, Vodafone to deliver next generation broadband services, and TalkTalk is expected to join the network soon.

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Cllr. Chris Read, leader of Rotherham Council, said: "The CityFibre investment in Rotherham is a huge boost that supports our ambitions to develop a competitive and sustainable economy that builds on our strengths in advance manufacturing and innovation.

"Rotherham has so much going for it as a business location and having the full fibre network makes it the ideal place for any company to grow or locate. Having a full fibre gigabit capable infrastructure will meet the ever increasing digital demands of those living and working in Rotherham now and in the future."

Natalie Ward, city manager for Rotherham at CityFibre, added: "This is such an exciting time for people across Rotherham as work is now underway to build the Full Fibre broadband network which will digitally transform the town. Not only will this bring lightning fast speeds to both households and businesses, it will open up much deeper benefits such as enabling smart home technologies and giving people the freedom to work from home with ease.

"Our £29m investment also supports the innovative business community that helps drive the Rotherham economy. Through the adoption of next generation Full Fibre connectivity, more innovation and productivity will be driven, ultimately giving businesses the platform they need to realise their growth ambitions. Creating a level playing field for local businesses is vital as they seek to compete and sell internationally."

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Targeting 3.2 million premises in the UK's hardest to reach "final third," Openreach has confirmed that market towns and villages are in for a full fibre boost - with exchanges in Wickersley and Thurcroft set to be upgraded.

Robert Thorburn, partnership director in the North of England at Openreach, said: "I'd encourage everyone to check if they can switch to the new technology, and if you can, get in touch with your broadband provider to find out more about the many benefits. "Full fibre" is more reliable and more resilient meaning fewer faults and more predictable, consistent speeds. It is also "future-proof" to easily meet the growing data demands of future technologies."

Last year, Superfast South Yorkshire (SFSY) completed a £27m contract to deliver faster broadband to residents and businesses across South Yorkshire.

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News: CityFibre progresses plans for Rotherham

The second phase of rollouts extending CityFibre's Gigabit City programme includes Rotherham and can create full fibre running all the way into the borough's properties.

The leading designer, builder, owner, and operator of fibre optic infrastructure in UK towns and cities provides an alternative to BT Openreach.

Rotherham is one of 12 new regions that join alongside the 12 cities already announced, and form the next phase in CityFibre's £2.5bn investment plan to bring competitive full fibre infrastructure to at least five million homes, more than 20% of the UK market.

CityFibre has commenced network design and is already investing in each location, extending its existing full fibre spine infrastructure serving schools, hospitals and council offices, to reach nearly every home and business.

A planning application has been submitted to convert an empty business unit in Masbrough into a data centre for CityFibre.

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Each Gigabit City design will include enough fibre capacity to serve the bandwidth demands of all market verticals far into the future. The networks, which are designed to be ready for 5G small cell densification, also provide a platform to realise Smart City ambitions.

Greg Mesch, CEO at CityFibre, said: "CityFibre's sole purpose is to deliver the future-proof digital infrastructure the UK deserves. With a new Prime Minister set to increase government's ambitions for the pace of full fibre rollout, we are delighted to welcome another 14 towns and cities to our Gigabit City Club. These Gigabit Cities will not only gain new full fibre networks that will spark their digital transformation, but also unleash the benefits that only competitive infrastructure investment can bring.

"Our rollout to five million homes is gathering momentum. We have now confirmed 26 locations and over two million homes in our programme. We are investing, we are building, and we are connecting customers to networks of the future."

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News: CityFibre launching 1,000 Mbps service in Sheffield city region

CityFibre, the fibre optic network infrastructure specialist providing an alternative to BT Openreach, is launching its Gigabit Cities initiative in the Sheffield city region.

Rothbiz reported in August that the leading designer, builder, owner, and operator of fibre optic infrastructure in UK towns and cities, had signed a launch partner agreement with Exa Networks and that the focus would be on the company's network in Sheffield but would also bring the benefits of gigabit (1,000 megabits per second / Mbps) connectivity to schools and businesses in Doncaster and Rotherham.

The network, which spans 110km, will provide local businesses with some of the fastest download and upload speeds in the world and is set to improve productivity and provide a significant competitive advantage. Fix Britain's Internet Campaign estimated that the SCR's business community currently struggle with slow speeds of only 18.36 Mbps on average. Previous Government-funded projects had to miss out Sheffield city centre after the contracting body, BDUK, identified that it is not eligible for inclusion.

The Sheffield, Doncaster and Rotheram Gigabit City projects are being delivered in partnership with Exa Networks, an established telecoms provider based in Yorkshire who have been delivering high quality internet services to schools and businesses for over a decade. Exa Networks is already delivering ultra-fast connectivity across CityFibre's networks in Bradford and Leeds. Exa Networks' internet service for business is called DarkLight and basic connection packages range from 100 Mbps to 10 Gbps.

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Rob Hamlin, commercial director at CityFibre, said: "We're delighted to be expanding our partnership with Exa Networks to offer world-class digital infrastructure to Sheffield, Doncaster and Rotherham. The region has a rich industrial heritage but has in recent years seen huge growth in the digital sector; these businesses require gigabit speed internet connectivity to compete and succeed in an ever changing digital world."

Mark Cowgill, co-founder of Exa Networks, added: "By using CityFibre's pure fibre infrastructure we are able to offer customers in the Sheffield City Region a world class connectivity service. Having worked with CityFibre across the Leeds and Bradford network, we're really looking forward to expanding our service offering across Yorkshire.

"As a UK leader in providing internet services to the education sector, we understand the crucial importance of ultra-fast connectivity in our schools as well as our businesses and anticipate a huge demand for increased bandwidth in both the education and business communities of Sheffield."

The estimated live date is November/December 2016 and a number of launch events are scheduled to take place in November.

Fibre connectivity has been improving since BT bagged a contract with the Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership for the £28m Superfast South Yorkshire project as part of the government's BDUK initiative. Local and Government match funding should ensure that 97.9% of South Yorkshire will have access to superfast broadband (speeds of greater than 24 Mbps) by the end of 2017.

With further funding made available by BDUK, more than 30 business parks and Enterprise Zones in South Yorkshire, including Dinnington, Hellaby Industrial Estate, Dearne Valley and Gateway Industrial Park, are set to be upgraded to fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) technology - providing ultrafast broadband speeds of up to 300Mbps.

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News: DarkLight gigabit internet coming to Rotherham

CityFibre, the fibre optic network infrastructure specialist providing an alternative to BT Openreach, has signed a deal to bring gigabit internet services to Rotherham.

The leading designer, builder, owner, and operator of fibre optic infrastructure in UK towns and cities, has announced the signing of a launch partner agreement with Exa Networks for its acquired networks in the Sheffield city region.

Rothbiz reported in December that CityFibre would be expanding its footprint having arranged a deal to acquire KCOM's national fibre and duct network assets. The AIM-listed firm announced the £90m acquisition at the same time as securing financing of £180m to facilitate the acquisition and fully commercialise its national network.

The latest six-year, £3.3m deal commits Bradford-based ISP, Exa Networks to deliver 250 school and business connections under an existing national framework agreement, focused on the company's network in Sheffield, and also brings the benefits of gigabit (1,000 megabits per second) connectivity to schools and businesses in Doncaster and Rotherham.

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The agreement takes the number of connections sold by CityFibre on the networks acquired from KCOM in January to 1,450, and the value of contracts sold on the assets to £22.1m.

Greg Mesch, chief executive of CityFibre, said: "We're delighted to extend our framework agreement with Exa into Sheffield, Doncaster and Rotherham. With this latest call-off, we demonstrate our ability to leverage our expanded footprint and drive commercialisation of the acquired assets at pace, bringing ten cities into commercial production within seven months of acquisition close. It also brings us within striking distance of 4,000 connections sold year to date."

CityFibre is the largest independent wholesale provider of fibre infrastructure to mid-sized cities and major towns across the UK, providing gigabit-capable infrastructure for enterprise and public sector organisations, service providers, mobile network operators and businesses.

City-wide pure fibre networks known as "COREs" are being installed in major cities and CityFibre is working in a joint venture with TalkTalk and Sky on Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) networks and services for homes and businesses. With 15 km of "dark fibre" in Sheffield it partnered with ISP, ASK4.

Exa Networks' internet service for business is called DarkLight and basic connection packages range from 100 Mbps to 10 Gbps.

Fibre connectivity has been improving since BT bagged a contract with the Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership for the £28m Superfast South Yorkshire project as part of the government's BDUK initiative. Local and Government match funding should ensure that 97.9% of South Yorkshire will have access to superfast broadband by the end of 2017.

With further funding made available by BDUK, more than 30 business parks and Enterprise Zones in South Yorkshire, including Dinnington, Hellaby Industrial Estate, Dearne Valley and Gateway Industrial Park, are set to be upgraded to fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) technology - providing ultrafast broadband speeds of up to 300Mbps.

CityFibre has joined with the likes of Virgin Media and Zayo (who purchased South Yorkshire assets from the failed Digital Region project) to oppose Ofcom's proposals to allow providers to access BT's "dark fibre" lines.

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News: CityFibre's reach extends to Rotherham

CityFibre, the fibre optic network infrastructure specialist providing an alternative to BT Openreach, is expanding its footprint having arranged a deal to acquire KCOM's national fibre and duct network assets.

CityFibre is the largest independent wholesale provider of fibre infrastructure to mid-sized cities and major towns across the UK, providing gigabit-capable infrastructure for enterprise and public sector organisations, service providers, mobile network operators and businesses.


The AIM-listed firm announced the £90m acquisition at the same time as securing financing of £180m to facilitate the acquisition and fully commercialise its national network.

City-wide pure fibre networks known as "COREs" are being installed in major cities and CityFibre is working in a joint venture with TalkTalk and Sky on Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) networks and services for homes and businesses.

The latest deal, set to complete mid-January 2016, will immediately increase the number of CityFibre's metro footprints to 36 cities and enable CityFibre to target a total of 50 cities by 2020, reaching 20% of the UK market. It will become the largest wholesale infrastructure provider after BT and the first challenger to the national incumbent, nearly ten years to the day since the formation of Openreach.

The firm said that it is extending networks into Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield.

Greg Mesch, CEO at CityFibre, said: "This is the most significant event to take place in the UK's digital infrastructure market in a decade. The UK now has a secure independent infrastructure alternative. Cities, service providers, mobile operators and investors have boldly embraced a new model of future-proof infrastructure provision and paved the way for its acceleration across the country.

"With our enlarged footprint and strong pipeline of cities demanding better infrastructure, we will continue to grow, offering existing and new partners an ever increasing opportunity to capitalise on a pure fibre future."

BT bagged a contract with the Sheffield City Region Local Enterrpise Partnership for the £28m Superfast South Yorkshire project as part of the government's BDUK initiative. Local and Government match funding should ensure that 97.9% of South Yorkshire will have access to superfast broadband by the end of 2017.

CityFibre recently joined with the likes of Virgin Media and Zayo (who purchased South Yorkshire assets from the failed Digital Region project) to oppose Ofcom's proposals to allow providers to access BT's "dark fibre" lines.

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