Freedom Fibre joins the list of providers with a contract under the auspices of Project Gigabit. The contract with a value of £24 million is aiming to cover an additional 12,000 premises with full fibre in the area of North Shropshire.
Map of prospective FTTP roll-out locations under Project Gigabit contract in North Shropshire May 2023
While the contract has been awarded today actual network construction is not expected until February 2024 and the first properties going live in October 2024. We have no idea where in the three year contract the following places are but places such as Cockshutt, Hinstock, High Ercall, Bomere Heath, Hadnall, Cheswardine and Clive are expected to benefit from the roll-out.
We are delighted to be selected to deliver the latest full fibre broadband technology as part of the North Shropshire Gigabit project. Freedom Fibre is already delivering these services to rural homes and businesses across North West Shropshire and is pleased to be expanding our services to 12,038 homes and businesses in North Shropshire.
The project forms part of the government’s initiative to ensure a UK-wide rollout of full fibre to replace ageing copper networks. Investing £24m in the latest fibre technology, the project will end over 100 years of copper-based services and enable the delivery of high-speed full fibre to the UK.
Freedom Fibre is a network builder and will be working with several internet service providers and the local authorities over the next few years. Wherever possible we will be using existing underground ducts and overhead poles to minimise disruption.
Freedom Fibre CEO Neil McArthur
Freedom Fibre are constructing a wholesale network and at this time the anchor retailer is TalkTalk and while the footprint is thought to be around 93,000 premises passed, due to massive uncertainties when using the TalkTalk checker we have to date not featured the footprint in our data. We think we may have identified some postcodes where the majority can order using TalkTalk via the Freedom Fibre network so our resources will start to show a small part of the footprint in the next week. In the case of the Project Gigabit North Shropshire contract roll-out it should be easy to identify since the FTTP builds are meant to be where no other provider is offering FTTP. The work we’ve done today will ensure that we are ready to track the roll-outs due under the contract.
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The project will end over 100 years of copper-based services and enable the delivery of high-speed full fibre to the UK.
That is, if they can get people to change.
People shouldn’t have an option as to whether to change – the logical method always was and still is to replace copper, if people want slow speeds over FTTP then by all means let them.
More expensive in the short term to do 100% of droplinks, but cheaper in the long term.
Our exchange on the fringe so nothing for me even though I can see the fibre cabinet from my gate