Bournemouth to be first Fibrecity

Bournemouth in Dorset will be the UK's first town to have a fibre-optic broadband network, largely running through the sewer network.

The fibre will provide fast connections to all Bournemouth’s businesses and more than 88,000 homes, according to H2O Networks, the company behind the project.

The aim to turn Bournemouth into a 'Fibrecity' will end the town's reliance on the existing telephone infrastructure and provide ultra-fast speeds, H2O said.

"Many households and broadband customers in the UK have insufficient connectivity bandwidths because they are attached to legacy networks deployed in the 20th Century that just can’t cope with demand. Our solution brings us right into the 21st Century and beyond, with speeds in excess of 100Mbps," said Elfed Thomas of H2O Networks.

Work will begin on the deployment of fibre in the next six months, with much of it to be run through Bournemouth's 360,000 miles of sewers.

Where sewers are not available, a small slot is channelled into the road. At a depth of just just 2cm, creating the slots should cause minimal disruption.

Bournemouth University is one educational establishment that is already benefiting from fibre-optic broadband, along with Aberdeen and Edinburgh Universities.

Another town that is in line to get a fibre network installed in the near future is Nottingham.

www.h2o-networks.uk.net
www.fibrecity.eu
www.bournemouth.gov.uk