East of England rural provider County Broadband has announced it has completed building its gigabit-speed full fibre infrastructure in Sudbury, Suffolk, and has released details of plans to further support the community with local events and partnerships.
A total of approximately 6,200 premises have been connected to the fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) infrastructure as part of the multi-million-pound large-scale infrastructure build work across the historic market town.
Full fibre broadband, also known as Fibre-To-The-Premises (FTTP), is the installation of fibre optic cables directly into premises. The new large-scale full fibre broadband infrastructure provides speeds of up to 1,000 Mbps (gigabit-capable) which is 11 times quicker than current copper superfast networks. Full fibre can also be upgraded to 10,000 Mbps in the future and provides vastly superior network reliability due to the technology of the fibre optic cables.
In contrast, copper-based superfast connections are based on Fibre-To-The-Cabinet (FTTC) Victorian technology in which fibre cables are sent to roadside cabinets and distributed via copper cabling.
In total, County Broadband is designing, building and deploying full fibre broadband in over 250 villages and market towns across the East of England, backed by a combined £146 million of private investment from Aviva Investors, to help drive local economic growth and provide reliable access to modern online services in response to rising demand in rural and remote areas.
James Salmon, Director of Corporate Development at County Broadband, said: “We are pleased to complete our full fibre network build in the historic Suffolk market town of Sudbury which will benefit from the unrivalled network reliability and significantly faster gigabit speeds that the new infrastructure provides.
“As a community provider that prides itself on its commitment to engage closely with local leaders, residents and businesses across our network, we are also pleased to be working with local sports clubs and the town council on upcoming exciting events. This vital community engagement will enable us to continue to provide on-the-ground support where it’s needed across the town.”
County Broadband has extended its sponsorship of Sudbury Rugby Club for the rest of the current 2023/24 season which includes stadium board advertising, individual player sponsorship, and matchday programme full page support.
In addition, the Club will receive a £50 donation each time a resident or local business connects to County Broadband’s full fibre network and mentions the Club as a referral, under County Broadband’s Recommend a Neighbour scheme.
East of England rural community provider County Broadband, based in Aldham, near Colchester in Essex, specialises in designing, building and deploying gigabit-speed full fibre infrastructure in rural and hard-to-reach communities which have been typically overlooked by large national providers.
The government has set a flagship target to deliver UK-wide gigabit speeds by 2030. It is relying on local firms like County Broadband backed by private investment to roll out full fibre infrastructure to achieve its target, boost local economic growth, and help bridge the urban and rural digital divide.
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 infrastructure and service.
