Homes And Businesses In Seven Sussex Towns To Get Ultra-Fast Fibre Internet To The Premises

Thursday, 30 July 2020 11:14

By John Warburton @Warblefly

Openreach fibres at an exchange (Photo: The BDUK Project / Creative Commons)

The UK's main provider of Internet cabling said yesterday (July 29) it will bring ultra-fast "Gigabit" fibre connections directly to homes and businesses in seven medium-sized towns across Sussex.

Openreach, the company that installs most of Britain's communications cables, says its engineers plan to offer the fastest possible Internet connections to help individuals and traders currently at a disadvantage compared to users in parts of larger towns and cities such as Brighton and Hove.

Fast Internet connections fall into two categories that use optical fibre:

"Fibre To The Cabinet" (FTTC) means the Internet connection from the telephone exchange to a wiring cabinet in the street is through an ultra-fast glass fibre, with conventional telephone wiring to the user's premises slowing the Internet down;
"Fibre To The Premises" (FTTC) means the fastest possible connection runs with glass fibre all the way to a customer's building, with no slow-down caused by telephone wires.

Openreach said seven Sussex towns will be upgraded to let users receive the faster, FTTP, connections.

They are:

Bexhill
Crowborough
Lewes
Seaford
Haywards Heath
Bognor Regis
Horsham

In some of those towns, a limited amount of FTTC capability exists at present, giving typical download speeds of 80Mbit/s (enough for several HD tv channels simultaneously); but typical upload speeds of up to 20Mbit/s are too slow for multiple gamers or video conferences in the same building.

FTTP connections would mean a massive speed increase, thereby enabling small businesses to provide much faster and deeper digital services than ever before, directly from their premises.

Openreach said these locations are being given FTTP connections without taxpayer subsidy, in the hope of boosting post-Covid-19 economic recovery.

According to the company, work was expected to begin in many locations within the next 12 to 18 months, although some locations might experience connection activity until 2024.

A spokesperson for Openreach described the outcome of a report the company commissioned, describing the benefits of full fibre connections:

"Connecting everyone in the South East to 'Full Fibre' broadband by 2025 would create a £8.7 billion boost to the region's economy.

"The report also revealed that more than 65,000 people across the South East could be brought back into the workforce through enhanced connectivity.

"This could include roles in small businesses and entrepreneurs - as well as allowing thousands more people to work remotely."