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Investment comes from new ownership
KCOM has announced plans to invest £100 million into expanding its full-fibre network.
This investment will build on the rollout of full-fibre broadband to more than 200,000 premises in Hull and East Yorkshire last year.
It intends to add full-fibre to “tens of thousands” more homes and businesses across the region. The investment is supported by its new owners Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 6 SCSp, which acquired KCOM in August last year.
According to independent research from ThinkBroadband, the average speed on Hull’s full-fibre network between October and December 2019 was 101Mbps, a slight increase on 97.4Mbps recorded between July and September.
Additional research from tech consultancy Innovation Observatory found that the economic impact of KCOM’s full-fibre broadband investment from 2012 to 2018 was more than £469 million.
KCOM CEO Dale Raneberg said: “Our investment in Fibre To The Premises technology to date has made Hull the UK’s first full fibre city, with broadband speeds that are the envy of the rest of the UK.
“I’m delighted to announce the first phase of our new, ambitious plans to bring our award-winning broadband to many more homes and businesses in East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire. By investing to develop and expand our networks we hope to deliver benefits to residents through infrastructure that will also underpin growth and innovation across the region.
“Our full fibre infrastructure is contributing to the creation of a regional powerhouse. This new programme will more than double our investment in Fibre To The Premises.”
Digital secretary Nicky Morgan added: “We want every corner of the country to benefit from world-class, gigabit-speed broadband, so I welcome this big investment from KCOM to give more businesses in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire the opportunity to take advantage of the fastest internet connections.
“This Government has committed £5 billion to make sure the hardest-to-reach areas aren’t left behind and, together with industry investment, it means real progress is being made to build a connected, 21st century Britain.”