CityFibre, the UK’s largest independent full fibre platform, has signed a strategic multi-million-pound contract with STL, an integrator of digital networks.
STL will supply CityFibre with optical fibre, cable and interconnect solutions.
By the end of 2022, CityFibre plans to have builds underway across more than 150 cities, towns, and villages in the UK before expanding to 285 by 2025.
CityFibre reports it is on track with its £4bn investment programme to reach up to eight million homes by 2025, approximately one third of the UK market.
As part of the roll-out, it will provide coverage to 400,000 local authority sites, 800,000 businesses, and 250,000 5G access points.
It is also in discussions with the Government to explore opportunities to support the Building Digital UK’s (BDUK) Project Gigabit programme to bring full fibre to rural communities across the country.
James Thomas, director of supply chain at CityFibre, commented: “We are delighted to have formed this partnership with STL. Working together we will secure the technology and supplies CityFibre needs to achieve its ambitious targets.
“STL’s IBR cabling technology and other supplies will play a key role in accelerating our build in more locations this year and beyond.”
Paul Atkinson, CEO at Optical Networking Business, STL added: “Our integrated optical connectivity solution with optical fibre, cable and interconnect products, will help CityFibre achieve accelerated network rollout with high scalability and agility, while keeping the overall costs low.”
Image: Road excavation for the laying of optical fiber cables (Credit: ChiccoDodiFC/Shutterstock)
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