Thousands of people living in social and council housing across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole are set to benefit from next generation digital connectivity.

A partnership between CityFibre and BCP Council means more properties will be connected to a Full Fibre network.

Over the coming months CityFibre will install Full Fibre to council-owned properties in Poole thanks to a wayleave agreement covering 12,000 premises.

A wayleave is a written legal agreement between a company, in this case CityFibre, and the land or property owner.

It gives permission for CityFibre to install, maintain or repair the network equipment that’s on BCP Council’s property.

Greg Mesch, CEO of CityFibre, joined Cllr Philip Broadhead, BCP Council’s Deputy Leader, and Graham Farrant, Chief Executive, BCP Council, for a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Poole Quay.

It was held to formally confirm the combined £65m investment CityFibre is making over the next few years in the BCP area as part of its aim to reach at least 8m premises across the country by 2025.

Since 2019, CityFibre has been rapidly installing future-proof digital Full Fibre infrastructure that is expected to boost productivity and innovation and deliver millions in economic benefits for the area.

It will also give residents access to the UK’s fastest broadband services.

Full Fibre digital networks, which provide connectivity at Gigabit speeds, are recognised to be the digital infrastructure of the future for homes and businesses.

Services are already live for most residents in Bournemouth, and in March CityFibre broke ground to extend its build in the area to cover Poole and Christchurch.

Greg, who founded CityFibre in 2011 – it’s now the UK’s largest independent Full Fibre platform – said: “We have made fantastic progress rolling out our network, first in Bournemouth, and now rapidly expanding across Christchurch and Poole.

“This has been achieved through close collaboration with local stakeholders at the council as well as our build partner in the area.

“However, as we scale at pace, it’s important to make sure we help everyone in the area level up at the same time.

“Gaining wayleaves means we will be able to reach some of the residents who stand to benefit the most from better connectivity.

“We are excited about building on our progress and making sure we’re connecting more homes, businesses, schools and hospitals, and supporting 5G mobile network deployments in the area in the weeks and months to come.”

Lucy Cooper, Regional Partnership Director at CityFibre, pictured left, added: “The pandemic has proven just how vital connectivity is and so we are committed to addressing this, whilst ensuring nobody is left behind.

“This agreement will make a genuine difference to thousands of people living in social/council housing in Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch, giving them access to transformative technology.”

The overall project in the BCP area is expected to reach completion by the end of 2023.

As the network is completed in each neighbourhood, internet service providers (ISPs) ‘light them up’ with some of the fastest and best value broadband packages available in the country.

CCN Communications Ltd is delivering the construction programme on CityFibre’s behalf, using modern build techniques to deploy the network quickly.

Matt Skilton, Co-Founder and Director, also attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Cllr Broadhead, who is also BCP Council’s Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Economy and Strategic Planning, pictured right, said: “We are delighted to welcome CityFibre into Poole and Christchurch following its continued rollout in Bournemouth.

“This investment will give the area a further boost to help the area thrive in a modern digital economy.

“This year has shown just how reliant we are on broadband services, which is why CityFibre’s build is so important.”

CityFibre is rolling out its Full Fibre infrastructure to eight million premises across the UK.

The £4 billion expenditure represents the largest independent investment in the UK’s digital infrastructure for a generation.