First Peterborough residential streets to be connected to superfast broadband are named

From left, Guilhem Poussot (Vodafone), Andy Starnes, CityFibre, Peterborough City Council leader Councillor John Holdich, Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough James Palmer and Rob Hamlin of City Fibre.

Work has started in Dogsthorpe to put down full fibre cables under miles of pavements as part of a £30 million project to bring the offer of superfast broadband to every household in the city.

The first streets to get full fibre optic cables are Elmfield Road, Garton End Road, Pyecroft, Airedale Close, Isherwood Close, Bettles Close and Park Terrace.

The work, which is being carried out by CityFibre, began on July 9 and it is hoped the first full fibre services will go live later this year.

A CityFibre spokesman said the installation will use modern build techniques that cut narrow channels in the pavements and rapidly lay the cables so minimising disruption to householders.

The roll out across the city is expected to take 24 months to complete.

The investment by CityFibre is part of its national partnership with Vodafone that aims to deliver full fibre connectivity to one million UK homes and businesses by 2021.

The latest installations are part of work that has been going on for five years to make Peterborough a Gigabit City.

So far most of the city’s schools, council offices and Peterborough City Hospital plus hundreds of businesses have been connected to the Gigabit City network providing access to ultrafast speeds, increased reliability and near limitless bandwidth. Earlier this year, high-definition CCTV and traffic management cameras were added to the network.

Andy Starnes, head of city development at CityFibre, said: “We’re at a really exciting stage of our fibre-to-the-premises roll out in Peterborough as the build work gets underway. Peterborough has worked hard to establish itself as a digital leader and has already been recognised globally for Smart City initiatives.

“We also know from a recent study we commissioned with economic consultancy Regeneris that wider Smart City enablement, from home automation technologies to smart energy networks and intelligent transportation systems, could add as much as £54 million to Peterborough’s economy as well as many more positive impacts across the city.

"Full fibre connectivity sits at the heart of Peterborough City Council’s vision and we look forward to seeing how the city is transformed when full fibre connectivity is made available city-wide.”

Councillor John Holdich, council leader, said: "We welcome CityFibre and Vodafone’s decision to choose Peterborough as one of the first cities in their fibre-to-the-premises roll-out.

"The council has worked closely with CityFibre for years to develop and expand the reach of their full fibre network.

"It has become a platform for our Smart City initiatives, helps us attract businesses and develop our emerging tech sector. With this extension of the project, the full benefits will soon be felt by everyone who lives and works in the city.”

Works to begin on £30m project to bring high speed internet to Peterborough Peterborough is named as UK’s first Gigabit City after £30m investment·