£46m investment supercharges rural ultrafast broadband for Essex

Following a £46m investment from Aviva Investors, County Broadband is commencing the rollout of its ultrafast full fibre broadband network across villages in Essex, providing a major boost to under-served rural communities and businesses.

Many rural communities still suffer from so-called ‘broadband black spots’ due to old copper-wire infrastructures dating back to Victorian times. Research also shows two thirds of customers who have existing so-called ‘fibre services’ are not full fibre at all, but arrive at their home through standard copper telephone lines – significantly affecting speeds, reliability and the ability to upgrade to meet future requirements.

In contrast, County Broadband’s high-tech ‘Fibre-To-The-Premises’ (FTTP) network delivers ultrafast internet speeds of up to 1,000 megabits per second (Mbps) directly into some of the most difficult-to-reach homes and businesses – at more than 20 times faster than the UK average.

The construction of this entirely new network is supported by a commitment from Aviva Investors which means the company’s expansion is not dependent upon public funds or from any financial contributions from home or business owners.

Lloyd Felton, CEO at County Broadband, said the investment will help support economic growth throughout East Anglia and improve residents’ quality of life.

“Since securing the investment, we have been identifying target areas,” he said. “Many premises might have access to broadband, but the ultrafast speeds that we will all soon need are only available to around 6% of the UK. Household usage and data consumption is already predicted to increase 10-fold every six years and only ultrafast solutions will match this requirement.”

Based in Aldham, Essex, County Broadband is an established internet service provider in East Anglia. The company is doubling its workforce over the next few months and is in the process of securing work for many local contractors. The company has already deployed a successful all-fibre Gigabit network in Broughton, Cambridgeshire, and already supports over 3,000 homes and businesses with its wireless-based broadband services in the region.

“Our goal is to provide a world-class, future proof infrastructure which will deliver ultrafast broadband speeds of 1,000Mbps now and even faster speeds in future as well as providing additional services such as telephony, home security and access to the vital services that the local authorities and health services plan for online access in the coming years.” Mr Felton said. “Aviva Investors’ recognise the vital need for future proof fibre infrastructure and their funding supports our strategy to service more than 30,000 homes and businesses in the region.”

As part of the roll-out programme, County Broadband is hosting a series of village meetings. These events provide an opportunity to meet the County Broadband team and find out more about the new network.

Amid growing numbers of services being delivered online, industry experts are highlighting the need for ultrafast broadband speeds to allow for quicker downloads and uninterrupted streaming and eliminating problems when family members simultaneously use the internet.

Ultrafast broadband speeds are also necessary for seamless access to services such as online radio, video on-demand and catch-up TV at the same time, while fibre’s faster upload speeds are more convenient when sharing photos online or making video calls.

Many businesses will also need the ultrafast broadband Fibre provides to benefit from evolving business applications.

County Broadband are offering residents and businesses a free connection by pre-ordering their ultrafast broadband.

With over 16 years’ experience, County Broadband was originally established as a Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP), specialising in the provision of wireless broadband networks and services to difficult-to-reach places, especially in rural areas.

For more information visit their website here.

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Photo Credit: County Broadband