Rural full-fibre specialist County Broadband has announced the appointment of civil engineering firm Highway Workforce to help extend its build of full-fibre broadband networks in rural Norfolk.
County Broadband is designing, building and deploying fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) infrastructure in over 50 rural communities across Norfolk, including the Breckland, Broadland, South Norfolk and North Norfolk areas.
Thousands of homes and businesses will benefit from the multi-million-pound investment in Norfolk’s digital infrastructure – gaining access to gigabit speeds and superior network reliability.
Earlier this year, County Broadband announced it had secured a further £100 million in private investment from Aviva Investors to extend its full-fibre rollout towards its target of 500,000 rural premises across the East of England by the end of 2027. This brought the total private investment to £146 million, following the £46 million secured from Aviva Investors in 2018.
Lloyd Felton, Founder and Chief Executive of County Broadband, said: “The government has set a flagship target to deliver nationwide gigabit-capable speeds across the UK by 2030. It is relying on local firms like County Broadband backed by private investment to roll out the full-fibre infrastructure to achieve its target and boost economic growth.
“Through County Broadband’s commercial plans, we can significantly reduce the need for government funded projects in the region, offering the opportunity to save taxpayers tens of millions of pounds at a time of financial constraint.”
The firm has written to local MPs to share its rollout strategy and is urging the government to reconsider where it is allocating public funds to deliver value for money.
Lloyd added:“We are pleased to confirm the appointment of Highway Workforce as we continue to significantly scale up our build partner resources and expertise to deliver full-fibre broadband infrastructure across rural Norfolk.
“Being a community focused company like County Broadband, Highway Workforce benefits from an extensive knowledge of Norfolk, including its unique geographical challenges and key stakeholders. We were also attracted to their successful track record of supporting multi-agency, large-scale projects in similar industries and disciplines.
“We are committed to our legacy of delivering UK-leading digital infrastructure in rural communities across Norfolk and look forward to Highway Workforce playing a major role in our journey.”
Full-fibre broadband is based on fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) infrastructure where fibre optic cables are installed directly into premises, providing download and uploads speeds of up to 1,000 Mbps. It can also be upgraded to over 10,000 Mbps in the future.
FTTP networks are replacing the fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) Victorian copper infrastructure on which slow and unreliable ‘superfast’ broadband is based.
County Broadband, an Essex-based alternative network (alt-net) provider founded in 2003, is designing, building and deploying full-fibre networks in over 250 villages across Norfolk, Essex, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, as part of a long-term commitment to digitally future-proof rural East of England.
Highway Workforce, a civil engineering firm based in the East of England, has extensive experience in the telecommunications sector across the region and the UK. The company, founded in 2017, is supporting County Broadband’s full-fibre build project in Norfolk with a 70-plus strong team.
Lee Merces, Managing Director at Highway Workforce, said: “Everyone at Highway Workforce is focused on this exciting digital infrastructure project and we are very proud to be part of County Broadband’s journey. Our delivery teams have already started the build phase and are working hard to help bring full-fibre networks to rural communities.”
The appointment of Highway Workforce complements the appointment of NGE earlier this year as a civil engineering partner to support County Broadband’s wider Norfolk full-fibre rollout and further demonstrates the commitment the company is making to close the digital divide in rural Norfolk.
Residents and businesses can check if they are covered in County Broadband’s rollout by entering their postcode at www.countybroadband.co.uk where they can also register their interest in finding out more about the service.
