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Work begins on fibre broadband rollout to 45,000 hard-to-reach homes in Cambridgeshire




A project to connect almost 45,000 hard-to-reach premises in Cambridgeshire as part of the government’s £5bn Project Gigabit programme has launched.

The first locations to benefit from the new digital infrastructure include Fen Ditton, Grantchester and Milton.

Lucy Frazer MP, fourth left, visited engineers in Fen Ditton deploying the new network in her constituency
Lucy Frazer MP, fourth left, visited engineers in Fen Ditton deploying the new network in her constituency

CityFibre, the UK’s largest independent full fibre platform, will also be connecting a further 170,000 homes across Cambridgeshire as it aligns its nationwide rollout with the Project Gigabit programme.

The Cambridgeshire rollout – made possible through £69 million government investment – is the first of nine Project Gigabit delivery contracts secured by CityFibre since March 2022 .

Lucy Frazer, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and MP for South East Cambridgeshire, visited engineers in Fen Ditton on Monday (19 February) deploying the new network in her constituency.

She said: “This future-proof connectivity is critical for our region to drive growth expand job opportunities and connect our communities.

“As the project gets under way, it has been great to see first-hand the progress already made here in Fen Ditton, and to understand how this technology has been designed to ensure it will be fit for decades to come.

“As some of the first in the country to benefit from the government’s £5bn programme of investment in new lightning-fast connectivity, I’m pleased that the first households and businesses in South East Cambridgeshire will shortly be able to access services and reap the benefits of this brand-new network. Gigabit will also be coming very shortly to Milton and Landbeach.”

With Project Gigabit subsidies targeted at locations not addressed by commercial build plans, CityFibre will be the only full fibre network available to those homes and businesses and to the internet service providers (ISPs) that serve them.

The new network will provide residents and businesses with access to a wide range of ISPs including Vodafone, TalkTalk and Zen.

Data and digital infrastructure minister Julia Lopez MP said: “Our multi-million pound investment in Project Gigabit is putting an end to buffering and bad connections.

“We are rolling out gigabit-capable networks faster than any other country in Europe, driving forward growth and new opportunities by providing millions of people across the UK with access to game-changing connectivity.

“It’s fantastic to see that Cambridgeshire will be one of the first places in the UK to see spades in the ground, transforming the way people live and work in these rural communities.”

Throughout the build, CityFibre will work closely with local stakeholders to ensure disruption is minimised and that the build is managed safely and efficiently. Typically, teams will only remain in each road for up to three days at a time, and residents will be contacted ahead of any work starting.

For more infromation, visit cityfibre.com.



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