17 Mar 2016 07:00
For immediate release | 17 March 2016 |
CITYFIBRE INFRASTRUCTURE HOLDINGS PLC
('CityFibre' or the 'Group' or the 'Company')
Southend Contract Award
CityFibre (AIM: CITY), a leading designer, builder, owner, and operator of fibre optic infrastructure in UK towns and cities, is pleased to announce that the Group has been selected by Southend-on-Sea Borough Council ('the Council') to build a 50km future-proof dark fibre network connecting 120 key public sector sites throughout the town.
The deal, worth £3.24 million over 10 years with capex coverage at the upper end of CityFibre's guidance range, will provide scalable, ultra-fast connectivity to underpin the Council's ambitious digital strategy and will make Southend CityFibre's latest Gigabit City.
The new network will provide the Council with a dark fibre platform from which they can upgrade the existing connectivity provided to sites including schools, colleges and council offices. Many of these key sites are currently served by legacy BT Openreach connections, frequently delivered over out-dated copper wires. These sites will be migrated to the new network as it is built, providing them with ultra-fast, pure fibre services.
This new infrastructure will enable the Council to deliver cost-effective and efficient digital public sector services in addition to fostering business growth and inward investment. Mobile masts can be connected to the network to enable upgrades to 4G and 5G services, next generation services will be able to support Southend's 6,000 businesses, and ultimately the network can provide a backbone for Fibre-to-the-Home deployment. These ultra-fast services are vastly superior to those endured by many businesses across the country and will provide them with a huge competitive advantage.
Greg Mesch, Chief Executive of CityFibre, commented:
"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. Southend demonstrates many of the key indicators of success. It has a forward thinking Council with an ambitious digital strategy and the appetite to become a leading example of a smart city, while its business community is growing and is increasingly demanding best-in-breed connectivity options."
For further information, please contact:
CityFibre Infrastructure Holdings plc | www.cityfibre.com |
Greg Mesch, Chief Executive Officer | Tel: 0845 293 0774 |
Terry Hart, Chief Financial Officer |
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James Enck, Head of Investor Relations | Tel: 0333 150 6283 |
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finnCap (Nomad and Joint Broker) | www.finncap.com |
Stuart Andrews / Christopher Raggett (Corporate Finance) | Tel: 020 7220 0500 |
Simon Johnson (Corporate Broking) |
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Liberum (Joint Broker) | www.liberum.com |
Steve Pearce / Steven Tredget / Richard Bootle | Tel: 020 3100 2000 |
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Vigo Communications | www.vigocomms.com |
Jeremy Garcia / Fiona Henson | Tel: 020 7830 9700 |
About CityFibre:
CityFibre is the UK's largest alternative provider of wholesale fibre network infrastructure. It has major metro footprints in 36 cities across the UK and a national long distance network that connects these cities to major data-centres across the UK and to key peering points in London.
The company has an extensive customer base spanning service integrators, enterprise and consumer service providers and mobile operators. Providing a portfolio of active and dark fibre services, CityFibre's networks address 24,500 public sites, 7,000 mobile masts, 245,000 businesses and 3.5 million homes.
CityFibre is based in London, United Kingdom, and its shares trade on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange (AIM: CITY). Further information on the company can be found at www.cityfibre.com