Full Fibre name the next 13 towns for its gigabit broadband rollout

Full Fibre has announced its next set of rural and semi-urban deployments to bring gigabit-speed broadband connections to “forgotten towns” across several counties.

The network provider, which aims to have at least 500,000 UK premises covered by 2025, named a handful of towns across Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire, and Derbyshire that will benefit from the new deployment.

Full Fibre is backed by the investment fund Basalt, and runs its network as a wholesale platform that other UK ISPs can piggyback on. These include ANLX, SWS, HFL Broadband, Cloud Wireless, and others.

The rollout initially began back in 2019 in Leominster, South Hams, and Ivybridge. In March this year, Full Fibre announced the connecting of another 100,000 premises across eleven UK towns.

When the new deployment has concluded, an additional 250,000 premises will have been connected to Full Fibre’s network.

The 13 new locations are: Swadlincote, Retford, Buxton, Leek, Belper, South Elmsall, Matlock, Hilton, South Alfreton, Cheadle, Uttoxeter, North Wingfield, and Bakewell.

The “majority of premises” in these new areas will be able to access gigabit-capable broadband connections within the next year.

Full Fibre CEO, Oliver Helm, said: “We are delighted to announce the extension of our network nationally and are looking forward to bringing fibre broadband to those in hard-to-reach locations. The areas we have chosen are currently relying on ageing copper connections that cannot meet the needs of consumers.

“As a wholesale infrastructure builder, Full Fibre is passionate about providing end-users with a choice of providers and a competitive marketplace that will drive innovation, better customer service and ultimately, deliver better value for money for all.

“It is vital that everyone in a community has access to ultrafast and reliable services, and this latest announcement is a testament to that. We’re looking forward to additional announcements down the line as we look to further expand our network.”

Mark Jackson, of ISPreview, welcomed the announcement, however he disputed whether some of the locations could be called “forgotten”.

“Some towns, such as Buxton, are due to be reached by Openreach’s own FTTP rollout. Meanwhile, others, such as Swadlincote, already have strong gigabit-capable coverage via rival networks like Virgin Media,” Jackson said.