CityFibre Infrastructure Holdings PLC which designs, build and operator fibre optic infrastructure in UK towns and cities intends to raise a further £185 million.
City fibre already operates an independent fibre network in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow and indends using the money to build on the company’s fibre network in the UK and expand their metro networks from 42 UK towns and cities today to not less than 50 towns and cities by 2020.
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Growth in data traffic is driving demand for investment in digital communications infrastructure and particularly in fibre optic broadband networks.
The UK has one of the highest levels of internet adoption in the world, but lags behind nearly all OECD nations in terms of fibre infrastructure.
Recent UK government and regulatory policy for greater competition and investment has resulted in a promising pipeline of projects for which CityFibre, as a builder and wholesaler of full fibre infrastructure, is well positioned.
Greg Mesch, Chief Executive Officer of CityFibre, said:
“We are building Gigabit Britain, driven by growing demand from Internet Service Providers and their customers to switch to full-fibre infrastructure. Our announcement to enter the residential market is the first step in our vision to bring gigabit connectivity to millions of UK homes and small businesses.
“This is about more than just better broadband – this is about future-proofing the digital infrastructure we’ve all come to rely on at work, at school, at home and in our communities. It’s also about stimulating the market, creating jobs and growth. The Government and Ofcom recognise that investment in alternative fibre networks will catalyse growth in the UK’s digital economy as well as reduce the country’s reliance on BT Openreach.
“With Entanet now part of the CityFibre family, our combined offering will accelerate the take-up of services over our growing network footprints, leveraging Entanet’s enviable channel partner network and continuing to transform digital connectivity for thousands of UK businesses.
“Today’s capital raising also better positions CityFibre to undertake larger projects coming forward with the public sector as well as mobile operators in readiness for their small-cell roll-outs and 5G services.”
