KCOM full steam ahead for fibre broadband
This will mark the culmination of an ambitious seven year programme during which KCOM’s investment in its Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) network will reach £85m.
Throughout the UK, FTTP is available to just three per cent of households.
I am delighted to announce our plans to complete what is arguably the most ambitious full fibre deployment in the UK. This is the final piece in the jigsaw in securing Hull as the digital capital of the UK. When we set out to transform our broadband network in 2012 our plan was to put Hull and East Yorkshire at the cutting edge of a digital revolution that would help to build a city and an economy fit for the 21st century.
We believed investing in full fibre broadband was the right thing to do both for the company and our customers, and that belief is now bearing fruit. With roots in the city reaching back to 1904, KCOM has always been at the forefront of innovation and, with the completion of our Lightstream deployment now in sight, we can be proud of the fact that Hull still leads the way while others follow. The people of Hull and East Yorkshire have supported our ambition by signing up to Lightstream in their tens of thousands. Their confidence will help us to make the KCOM network the fastest, the most connected and the most future-proofed not only in the UK but the world by 2019.
Bill Halbert
Chief Executive Officer
With KCOM connecting a new customer to the service every 20 minutes, Lightstream enables households to enjoy download speeds of 250Mbps (megabits per second) while businesses can connect at one Gigabit per second. The technology KCOM has deployed will enable even faster speeds to be delivered in the future.
Hull City Council leader Stephen Brady welcomed the announcement, saying the rollout completion would help create jobs and boost the city’s growing digital economy.
He said:
We know how important good connectivity is for business, and for our residents. It is superb that Hull is the best connected city in the UK, enabling businesses to operate as effectively as possible. Infrastructure such as excellent digital connectivity, is a key part of having all of the elements in place to attract more global businesses to locate here, and create more jobs. KCOM has done an excellent job rolling out full fibre across the city
Minister for Digital Matt Hancock MP, said:
Full fibre is the future, and so I'm delighted that KCOM is now entering the final stage of its ambitious rollout of full fibre broadband to homes and businesses in Hull. Rapid advances in technologies mean the need for ever faster broadband is only going to increase, and so it's wonderful news that the people of Hull will all be able to enjoy the gold standard, future proof connectivity that full fibre broadband offers.
Lightstream facts and figures
- The total investment to make Lightstream available across KCOM’s Hull and East Yorkshire’s network will be £85m. The investment was hailed by Matt Hancock MP, Minister of State for Digital, at the World Broadband Forum in 2016 as an exemplar of how to deliver ultrafast broadband infrastructure
- By March 2019 KCOM has will have installed more than 11,000,000 metres of fibre cable which is enough to stretch around the Moon. That’s the equivalent of 1,033,735 double decker buses parked end to end
- By the end of November 2017 the Lightstream rollout will have deployed eight million metres of fibre, which would reach from Hull to Beijing, San Francisco and Dhaka in Bangladesh
- Next year, Lightstream will become available to 3,000 new properties every month