Thousands more homes and businesses are set to have access to gigabit speed broadband after rural specialist County Broadband announced a new partnership with civil engineering firm AB Installs to accelerate the rollout of its full fibre networks.
The Colchester-based alternative network provider (alt-net) is building and delivering new fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) infrastructure across the East of England, with AB Installs supporting projects in villages across Essex and Suffolk.
The move is part of County Broadband’s commitment to accelerate the deployment of full fibre broadband to digitally futureproof the region with a target of connecting half a million premises by 2027.
The networks will deliver gigabit broadband speeds up to 1000Mbps and superior network reliability. This replaces the existing ‘Superfast’ copper-based networks which the government has said are not fit for purpose. Speeds can also be increased further in the future as demand grows without the need for further civil engineering works.
AB Installs, a civil engineering firm based in Essex, was founded in 2015 and has extensive experience managing end to end projects from the design stage through to build and delivery. With a team of over 70, the firm will be supporting County Broadband’s full fibre rollout.
Lloyd Felton, Founder and Chief Executive of County Broadband, said: “We’re pleased to announce our partnership with AB Installs as we reaffirm our commitment to rollout full fibre infrastructure at scale across the region. Their team has extensive technical experience delivering large scale build projects and brings innovative solutions to connecting some of the more hard to reach communities.
“We share an ambition to rapidly expand access to gigabit speeds and this partnership will bring new jobs and opportunities to the region as we continue to invest in and grow our dedicated workforces. As an Essex-based company like County Broadband, AB Installs brings a wealth of local knowledge and expertise which is vital to delivering these complex projects and engaging with key stakeholders throughout the build process.
“We’ve seen in the recent GDP figures that telecoms is a key driver of economic growth. If the UK is to compete internationally, we must accelerate investment in digital infrastructure to give businesses opportunities to diversify and support flexibility for households remote working.
“The East of England has always punched above its weight and is well placed to capitalise on the opportunities full fibre connectivity brings. We are fully committed to our legacy and delivering UK-leading infrastructure to rural communities.”
Alfie Beaney, director at AB Installs, added: “We are delighted to be working with County Broadband and our partnership represents two companies with an ambition to deliver high quality full fibre infrastructure, and a network which will offer a reliable service for many years to come.
“We have many villages already in build and, with our wealth of knowledge and expertise, are connecting more customers across the region daily. We look forward to working together over the coming years to ensure the region is a leader in broadband provision.”
This is the third new partnership announced by County Broadband following the appointment of Highway Workforce and NGE to build its new networks across Norfolk.
Ofcom recently* announced new guidance to help the consumer identify the difference between full fibre services which County Broadband are offering and the much slower part-fibre networks offered by others. This new guidance addresses misleading advertising by national providers promoting copper-based fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) services as ‘fibre broadband’ when in reality it is much slower ‘superfast’ broadband, that still uses outdated Victorian copper wires to connect to the home.
In contrast, County Broadband’s full fibre networks uses fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) infrastructure where fibre optic cables are installed directly into premises, which has the capability to have almost limitless download and upload speeds in future. County Broadband is currently offering broadband packages over its full fibre networks with a choice of speeds of up to a guaranteed 1,000 Mbps.
