Stirling bid to be first gigabit city on target Cityfibre marks milestone with 17,500 premises done
A programme of work to turn Stirling into Cityfibre’s first ‘gigabit city’ is to be completed.
Cityfibre announced that its main full fibre build in Stirling is now complete, passing more than 17,500 premises across the city.
The milestone marks the completion of Cityfibre’s first network-build project committed to in its strategic partnership with Vodafone.
The network has been extended to 2500 additional premises in the city, with much of the extended rollout covering the city centre.
Cityfibre says that alongside the initial project, this brings its infrastructure investment in Stirling to over £12 million and will continue to work with the local community, Stirling Council and its service provider partners to aggregate demand and further extend the rollout.
In addition to homes and businesses, the council is also continuing to connect key public sites to the network, including schools, libraries, and community venues.
The Stirling Gigabit City project forms part of Cityfibre’s £4 billion Gigabit City investment programme targeting up to 8 million premises to be substantially completed by 2025.
Cityfibre expects to complete a second city build later this year.
To date, 62 towns and cities have been identified to benefit from its rollout and plans to extend the project to more than 100 towns and cities across the UK which will create up to 10,000 jobs over the next three years.
Stirling Council leader, Councillor Scott Farmer, said: “We’re proud that Stirling has become the nation’s first completed Gigabit City project and that our businesses and residents will be able to reap the huge benefits that this digital innovation will bring.
“Secure, high speed access to the internet is such vital part of the city’s infrastructure and, in the wake of the economic effects brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, this project will play a vital role in connecting our communities, businesses and residents like never before, helping them to rebound from this crisis and thrive into the future.
“By working in partnership with Cityfibre and Vodafone, Stirling is positioning itself at the forefront of digital innovation, creating a platform where we can effectively challenge inequalities and social exclusion, and making Stirling a place where everyone can thrive.”
Greg Mesch, CEO at Cityfibre, said: “Completing the delivery of our first Gigabit City build project is a major milestone for Cityfibre and demonstrates the speed with which an entirely new digital infrastructure can be deployed. It’s thanks to the huge support from Stirling Council and residents of this spectacular city, that we have been able to make such rapid progress and we are delighted to announce the further extension of our build to thousands more homes and businesses.
“Providing full fibre nationwide by 2025 is the single most critical and effective infrastructure project to ensure the UK’S rapid and long-lasting economic recovery in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. Investment like this will also have a more immediate impact by creating thousands of jobs in Scotland and up to 10,000 across the UK within the next three years.
“As Gigabit City projects like Stirling start to come off the production line, they - and the rest of the UK – will start to reap the benefit.”
Deputy First Minister John Swinney welcomed the announcement.