Hackney Council housing to receive broadband upgrade.
Council housing across Hackney will be upgraded to state of the art ‘full fibre’ broadband, thanks to an agreement between the council and full fibre broadband company G.Network.
Under the terms of the agreement, G.Network will install its brand new broadband network to cover at least 80% of Hackney Council housing in the next three years. The two organisations are now collaborating on a rollout plan.
Full fibre connections are the gold standard in terms of internet connectivity. According to recent figures from industry regulators Ofcom, only 32% of Hackney premises can access a full fibre connection.
“G.Network is already able to connect over 30,000 premises in Hackney to our full fibre broadband,” commented G.Network CEO Kevin Murphy, “and we’re looking forward to rapidly increasing that figure now we have an agreement in place with the Council. Across London, so many residents are still reliant on outdated broadband connections. We’re delighted to be bringing better connectivity to Hackney.”
Cllr Clayeon McKenzie, Cabinet Member for Housing Services and Resident Participation, said: “With much of our everyday life now online it is important that our residents have access to good and reliable broadband services.
“Our Better Broadband initiative sees us working with G.Network and others to roll out full fibre broadband to at least 80 percent of Hackney Council homes over the next three years.
The programme also provides additional benefits including providers offering apprenticeships and job opportunities to residents, training for those wanting to enhance their digital skills, free fast broadband connections to a number of community facilities, and targeted discounts to some residents who are in financial hardship and are digitally excluded.
“We are delighted to be working with G.Network to help break down the barriers our residents may face accessing full fibre broadband and in learning new skills that will equip them for life.”
Initial works will start in summer 2022.
About G.Network
G.Network is a full fibre broadband provider. The company digs streets to install state-of-the-art full fibre connections directly to residents and businesses across London. The capital’s broadband is notoriously under-invested, with many residents and business still reliant on older, copper-based connectivity which delivers limited speeds.
G.Network has already dug past nearly 400,000 premises, and will pass 1.3m in the years ahead. This includes privately owned, privately rented, housing association, council-owned and commercial properties. The company completed a £1bn fundraise in December 2020. Its principal backers are the Universities Superannuation Scheme and Cube Infrastructure Managers.
G.Network connections range from 100 Megabits per second (Mbps) to 10 Gigabits per second (10 Gbps) month. The service is priced competitively so that customers benefit from superior fibre connectivity at the same or even lower cost than current copper-based services.