LONDON (Alliance News) - CityFibre Infrastructure Holdings PLC said on Thursday it has won a contract with Southend-on-Sea Borough Council to build a 'dark fibre' network connecting 120 public sector sites in the town.
The designer, builder, owner and operator of fibre optic infrastructure said the contract is worth GBP3.2 million over a ten-year period and, under the deal, CityFibre will be building a 50 kilometre dark fibre network. Dark fibre is cabling that is already in the ground but has not yet been connected to carry traffic.
CityFibre said many of the public sector sites are currently served by BT Group PLC's Openreach connections, which it said was "frequently delivered over out-dated copper wires".
CityFibre added the new network will provide ultra-fast connectivity for the council and is a platform via which the council can upgrade the existing connectivity provided to schools, colleges and council offices in the town.
Mobile masts can be connected to the network to enable upgrades to 4G and 5G services, the group said.
"We're delighted to add Southend to the growing ranks of Gigabit City projects, further endorsing our belief that significant demand exists for our services across the UK," CityFibre Chief Executive Greg Mesch said.
Shares in CityFibre were down 1.2% at 50.40 pence on Thursday.
By Hannah Boland; hannahboland@alliancenews.com; @Hannaheboland
Copyright 2016 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.