INCA Press Release
Date: 9th November 2017
INCA members CityFibre and Vodafone have announced a collaborative project to build 1m full fibre connections, starting in 5-10 cities in 2018 and growing to 12 cities by the end of the four year construction phase. They have in place a framework agreement to reach 5m homes passed with full fibre by 2025, 50% of the Government's national full fibre target.
The network will be owned by CityFibre with Vodafone taking exclusive access rights for residential connections during the construction phase and guaranteeing a minimum volume that scales to 20% over ten years. Following the initial phase the network will be opened up to competitive providers in the residential market. From day one it will be open for business service providers and for wireless, mobile and 5G services.
Mark Collins of CityFibre said, "This puts CityFibre in the lead for delivering a full fibre Britain. Our strategic partnership with Vodafone reduces the risks in the project, helping to secure the right sort of financial backing."
CityFibre and Vodafone are leading members of INCA. Senior representatives of both companies will speak at INCA's Conference in Newcastle on 15th and 16th November. Digital Minister Matt Hancock, who unfortunately can't participate in person, has released a very positive video message encouraging people to attend and will give a video Q&A with conference chair, Lorne Mitchell. James Heath, Director of Telecoms at DCMS will layout the Government's policy position at the conference. Jonathan Oxley, Competition Director at Ofcom will give the regulator's view of a Full Fibre Future. The full agenda includes a host of industry leaders, officials and suppliers.
Malcolm Corbett, CEO of INCA said, "Today's news is great for the industry and great for the country. It demonstrates the scale of ambition amongst the new generation of digital infrastructure providers, their collaborative approach and the support they are getting from the wider Internet industry, from investors and policy makers. INCA's conference next week will buzz from this news which follows hard on the heels of major announcements from TrueSpeed, WightFibre, wireless provider Boundless and other companies in the sector. We are forging ahead."
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