Work to bring full fibre internet connectivity to Sunderland gets underway with £62million investment

CityFibre, the UK’s largest independent full fibre platform, is now coordinating advance works with Sunderland City Council’s resurfacing programme across the city, ahead of the main £62million build programme commencing later this month.

Work will be delivered by MAP Group on CityFibre’s behalf using a range of construction methods to deliver a fast rollout, while minimising potential disruption.

Each area is estimated to take a few weeks to complete, with construction teams typically only being outside each home for two to three days and CityFibre will be in touch by mail ahead of any work starting.

The overall project is expected to be completed by 2025 however the first services will go live for people to take advantage of much sooner than that date.

CityFibre’s City Manager for Sunderland, Jason Legget, has reminded residents that any short-term disruption will pay off for decades to come.

He said: “I’m immensely excited and proud to see work getting underway in Sunderland. The city has truly embraced the potential of full fibre and has a robust plan in place to be a genuine leader in smart city technology.

“For residents, it’s important to remember that any short-term disruption will pay off tremendously in the long-term - once the network’s built, it will serve the community’s connectivity needs now and for decades to come.”

Patrick Melia, Chief Executive at Sunderland City Council, added: “It is fantastic that CityFibre is now ready to start delivering its £62m infrastructure investment programme in Sunderland.

“This will deliver a citywide network that will benefit residents, businesses and services, enabling us to further accelerate Sunderland’s digital transformation and catalyse economic growth.

“This is a once in a generation upgrade that will future-proof our network infrastructure at a time when connectivity has never been so important. The digital age is here and we’re ready for it.”

As the full fibre connectivity is completed in each neighbourhood, internet service providers (ISPs) will ‘light them up’ with some of the fastest and best value full fibre broadband packages available in the country.

Residents interested in giving their home broadband a boost can find out more about the build and register their interest at www.cityfibre.com/PR-Register.

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