G.Network to invest more than £1bn to transform London’s broadband infrastructure.

• G.Network plans to roll out full fibre broadband to 1.4 million premises, reaching 13 London Boroughs over the next 5 years
• The rollout is expected to create more than 1,250 new jobs.
• Around 4,500 km of streets to be dug.
• One of the biggest infrastructure projects in London.

Full fibre broadband operator, G.Network, plans to invest over £1bn in rolling out connectivity in London following a successful fundraise. The fundraise includes a new equity investment by USS, the UK’s largest private pension scheme by way of assets, of up to £295m over 6 years; as well as debt secured from four banks of up to £745m, contingent on passing certain milestones.

G.Network digs streets to install brand new, state-of-the-art, contiguous full fibre broadband infrastructure in the capital, offering both residential and business customers ultra-fast speeds. 

The network is ‘Open Access’, this means that other providers can offer connections to their customers using G.Network infrastructure in future. G.Network is currently working with eight local authorities and will bring its rollout to a further five, aiming to connect at least 80% of premises in each.

In the next five years, G.Network plans to dig around 4,500km of streets, reaching approximately 1.4 million London premises, including many in underserved areas. The rollout is expected to create more than 1,250 new jobs, in addition to the c.a. 250 staff already employed by the Company, whilst bringing competitively-priced high speed broadband to residents and businesses.

Commenting on the investment, Sasho Veselinski, G.Network Chief Executive Officer, said, “High speed, reliable connectivity is critical to the home and work lives of Londoners. That’s why G.Network is undertaking a fundamental upgrade of the capital’s telecoms infrastructure from copper to fibre. We are rebuilding London’s broadband from the fibre up, bringing first-class connectivity to residents and businesses without expecting them to pay more. We’re very pleased to be working with USS, Cube and our banking partners on this project, and look forward to many years of successful partnership.”

The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, Oliver Dowden said, “This fantastic investment in our capital is a welcome boost to the government’s national mission to revolutionise Britain’s digital infrastructure. It will give London a much-needed helping hand as we race to build back better from the impact of Covid and upgrade broadband speeds for well over a million premises while also creating hundreds of new jobs.”

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “This additional investment is great news for our city and will mean new jobs in infrastructure and faster internet speeds for Londoners at home and at work. At a time when so many are reliant on good connectivity, we’re encouraging more investment in full fibre by working with London’s 32 boroughs and TfL to provide better access across the capital.”

USS Investment Management CEO, Simon Pilcher, said: “This transaction is the latest in a series of new investments by USS in the UK, highlighting our commitment to long-term domestic investment particularly where we can identify supportive regulatory and Government policy. We look forward to partnering with the G.Network management team and Cube to provide Londoners with the first class fibre network they need whilst generating long-term returns to provide a better financial future for our members.”

Cube Managing Partner, Henri Piganeau, said: “We are known as pioneers among infrastructure funds for investing early in fibre open-access networks, long before fibre became the “fourth utility” and have over the last decade accompanied the growth of several European infrastructure operators. G.Network represents a compelling proposition for the enormous number of businesses and residents in London, who are chronically under-served by existing connectivity infrastructure. The partnership with USS will allow accelerating the growth of the Company into becoming the open-access network for Central London, serving all telecom operators”. 

We’re always on the lookout for great people to help rebuild London’s broadband. If you’re looking to build your career then find out more at www.g.network/careers