Press Release
Internet service provider BeFibre has connected its first customer with FTTP (fibre-to-the-premises) broadband – built and delivered to provide 13x faster broadband speeds*.
The team’s ambitious roadmap aims to provide full-fibre coverage to 80 UK towns and cities – 1,000,000 properties – by 2027.
The nationwide roll out has been made possible following access to at least £100m of private funding from Basalt Infrastructure Partners.
Now, many residents will have internet speeds that enable them to upload 100 Instagram photos in 5 seconds for example, or download a 1-hour TV programme in 7 seconds, 500 Spotify songs in 25 seconds, and an entire new-release PS5 game in only 14 minutes.
The first ever customer connected with BeFibre’s broadband is from Brentwood in the UK and is called Tania Burton. She lives in Gresham Road with her seven-year-old daughter Harlow, son Grayson, aged seven months, and mum, Karen Gorman, aged 59.
Speaking about the service she’s received from one of the UK’s newest full-fibre broadband provider, the 39-year-old said: “I wasn’t happy with my current broadband provider at all. The service kept dropping out and it was so slow and clunky which was absolute chaos when trying to work from home, especially during the pandemic.
“I saw members of the BeFibre team working in my street and they were so genuine and friendly when I spoke to them. I signed-up straight away for a free trial because I loved their approach and how honest they were.
“The switch-over was easy too, and I had no idea I was the first customer connected in the area – that was a lovely surprise!”
Working as an executive assistant for an artificial intelligence firm, Tania added: “I can’t fault BeFibre’s broadband upload and download speeds – everything has been impeccable. I can do my work without fear of something crashing and my family has everything it needs without the stress of the connection dropping out.”
Working alongside sister brand Digital Infrastructure – to deliver FTTP connectivity using OpenReach’s Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA) – the BeFibre project is less disruptive than other network deployments, with engineers using existing ducts so they don’t have to dig up the town’s roads.
As more Brentwood residents continue to be connected as part of a 2022 phased programme, several additional towns and cities across the UK have also been made ready for service, including the neighbouring areas of Clacton on Sea, Pilgrims Hatch and Ingatestone.
Speaking about the success so far in the region, BeFibre and Digital Infrastructure CEO Charlie Ruddy said: “We’re so proud of the progress we’ve made and are delighted with the feedback we’ve received from Tania Burton and other residents who no longer suffer from poor service and broken promises from their broadband providers.
“Having sponsored Brentwood’s Concert for Ukraine too, we’re really keen to keep communicating with the area’s residents to see how we can help them even further. We’d welcome local communities and groups to get in touch.”
*All references to how many times faster BeFibre’s broadband service is, depends on users being able to access ‘superfast’ type broadband services of 70Mbps (or less) and selecting one of its packages at the advertised speed. Speeds shown may be affected based on the placement of the router in the property or the device being used.
