The company CityFibre which is aiming to take fibre connectivity to 5 million homes by 2025 has agreed a deal with infrastructure provider Amey to roll out the £100m fibre network to Edinburgh homes and businesses. Work begins in Balerno this week in residential streets.
This is one of the first partnerships for the company as it speeds up the fibre network delivery across the country.
CityFibre’s £100million investment in the project means it is now actively recruiting 300 new staff at all levels. They say that the project will provide infrastructure to deliver a direct economic impact of over £50 million. The long term impact on Edinburgh’s economy is estimated at £4.3billion.
The company has increased its borrowings by £1.12bn to fund delivery of full fibre access to at least 20% of the market in the UK.
Greg Mesch, Chief Executive at CityFibre said: “Amey has a formidable reputation in the sector and we are delighted to have them onboard for our flagship Gigabit City rollout in Edinburgh. This project represents a long, stable, citywide build that will enable Amey to resource confidently and deliver at pace. This is expected to be the start of our partnership and that it will soon expand to cover further city builds across the country.”
Andy Milner, Chief Executive at Amey said: “We’re delighted that CityFibre has chosen Amey to transform the broadband provision in Edinburgh. As a trusted provider of utility services, we’re looking forward to working with CityFibre on this flagship project in a transparent and collaborative way, to deliver a service that adds value, benefits local residents and in turn helps Edinburgh become a truly intelligently connected city.”
Cllr Lezley Marion Cameron, Housing and Economy Vice Convener, said: “Becoming a globally competitive digital city, and the Data Capital of Europe is a key priority of Edinburgh’s Economy Strategy.
“This continuing investment will see more Edinburgh citizens experience a transformation of their online world at home. For the wider Edinburgh economy, this brings increased productivity, employment opportunities, innovation and helps facilitate and underpins delivery of our Economy Strategy. As this project progresses we will work with CityFibre to minimise any disruption to residents and businesses.”
As well as connecting homes, CityFibre’s open-access, full fibre, city-wide networks are designed to serve all the needs of the city; including businesses and public sector locations and providing the essential fibre infrastructure for mobile backhaul and 5G small cells.
To keep up to date with CityFibre’s progress in Edinburgh, follow @GigabitEdin
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