Internet speeds in West Leeds are entering the Gigabit fast lane

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Faster speeds, better reliability, less internet downtime. Sound like something you want?

Well, the good news is that Gigabit broadband is coming to West Leeds, and once the network is built, the difference will be night and day compared with the sluggish connectivity many of us have grown accustomed to.

By now, you may have spotted our construction teams, led by O’Connor Utilities Ltd, in locations across Leeds and even closer to home in Farsley, Hough End, Stanningley, Pudsey and Bramley.

With plans to cover the whole city, CityFibre, the UK’s third national digital infrastructure platform, is coming to a street near you. This is all part of our effort to level up the country’s broadband by bringing full fibre connectivity within reach of up to 8 million homes and businesses across the country.

Our £120 million investment is set to make the city among the first in the UK to benefit from Gigabit-capable internet speeds.

Once the work is complete, Leeds will have access to a state-of-the-art digital infrastructure that will reach nearly every home and business in the area, giving Leeds a leading edge when it comes to connectivity. Currently, just 15 per cent of premises across the UK can say they have full fibre.  

Over these past months, many of us have been dependent on our internet connection to provide us with a gateway to normal life – work, shopping and entertainment, as well as keeping in touch with friends and family.

The past few months have demonstrated how much digital technology is transforming our lives and will continue to do so long after a return to normality.

Full fibre will not only revolutionise the online world at home by unlocking new forms of buffer-free entertainment and making seamless home working a reality, it will provide a step change in internet speed and quality for the whole community. 

Businesses will benefit from much-improved productivity, and it will make the city even more attractive to the start-ups and inward investors that depend on reliable, fast and high capacity broadband.

The foundations for exciting smart city initiatives will be delivered too, unleashing new opportunities to make the city safer, greener and more efficient by deploying technologies that are already transforming some of the world’s most pioneering destinations.

How’re we going to do it? 

In order to tap into all this brand-new technology, we do need to do some heavy lifting. This comes in the form of laying the fibre optic network itself. All over the country, we are working with carefully selected contractors to deploy our network and manage disruption. Inevitably, with a project of this size, some work will need to be carried out on roads in the area, and this includes excavating pavements and laying the fibre optics.  

In collaboration with Leeds City Council, we are taking every precaution to limit the impact of our work and all our contractors are being urged to follow the social distancing protocols as outlined by Public Health England. While rolling full fibre out to a specific street or area can take some weeks, the good news is that we will only be outside your home for a handful of days. We’ll always make sure you have access to your property, and if you have any concerns, just talk to one of our site supervisors dressed in orange. Alternatively, you can call us on 0203 5100 602. 

Keeping you in the loop 

We are doing everything we can to communicate with people in the area to give them as much information possible. 

Before the first ground is broken, we will be sending our teams to mail drop residents, keeping them informed about the upcoming work and we happily encourage people to get in touch if they have any further queries.  

[WB1]  For more information about the build and to register for updates on progress in your area, visit: cityfibre.com/your-street

Sounds great, sign me up 

We will continue to keep you posted on our progress, but if this all sounds appealing to you, then you can speak to our launch partner, Vodafone today. 

Vodafone will be using CityFibre’s network to bring Vodafone Gigafast Broadband to customers in Leeds and you can pre-register for the service at www.vodafone.co.uk/gigafast/register.