First homes in Portsmouth are connected to hyperfast broadband

By Kimberley Barber
Published 2nd Mar 2021, 16:38 BST
Updated 3rd Mar 2021, 09:52 BST
Marketing manager Ruth Seals with one of the engineers who carried out the install. Giganet has connected its first customers in Portsmouth to the new CityFibre network.Marketing manager Ruth Seals with one of the engineers who carried out the install. Giganet has connected its first customers in Portsmouth to the new CityFibre network.
Marketing manager Ruth Seals with one of the engineers who carried out the install. Giganet has connected its first customers in Portsmouth to the new CityFibre network.
WORKING from home, streaming videos or just simply scrolling social media has all become a bit quicker, thanks to the roll out of a new fibre network in Portsmouth.

CityFibre has been working across the city for the past few months, digging up roads and pavements to lay fibre cables that will provide thousands of homes with hyperfast broadband.

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On Thursday, that work reached a milestone as local ISP Giganet connected its first customers to the new CityFibre full fibre network.

Sharon Hill, from Apsley Road, Southsea, was the first customer on the network, and Giganet gave her some fizz to celebrate.

Sharon Hill, the first customer in Portsmouth to the brand new CityFibre full fibre network. Sharon Hill, the first customer in Portsmouth to the brand new CityFibre full fibre network.
Sharon Hill, the first customer in Portsmouth to the brand new CityFibre full fibre network.

Previously struggling to work from home with a connection which was often unstable and unable to cope, Sharon was keen to get connected.

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Sharon, who picked the 500Mb/s package at £37 a month, said: ‘I was fed up with my previous supplier’s unreliable connection and extremely poor customer service and working from home was becoming more and more difficult.

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Giganet bringing full fibre home broadband to Portsmouth

‘The new full fibre means I can now work from home without drop-outs, whilst the rest of the family use the broadband at the same time. I couldn’t be happier.’

Giganet has connected its first customers in Portsmouth to the new CityFibre network.Giganet has connected its first customers in Portsmouth to the new CityFibre network.
Giganet has connected its first customers in Portsmouth to the new CityFibre network.

Reliable connectivity will bring a huge improvement to many in Portsmouth especially with the added demands of home schooling, working from home and online entertainment.

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Giganet’s packages are symmetrical, which means hyperfast upload as well as download speeds.

Giganet’s marketing manager Ruth Seals, who lives in Portsmouth, was delighted to see her home connected on Friday.

She said: ‘I’ve been wanting to ditch my current provider for years as the connection often drops and they raise their prices every year.

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‘I’ve been very excited to get this new connection and so pleased it’s now up and running. I just did a speed test and it said 923Mb/s. That’s nine times faster than the one I did yesterday on my old connection.’

CityFibre has been building the Portsmouth network since 2020 and will continue connecting homes in more areas across the city for the next three years.

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Lucy Cooper, CityFibre’s city manager for Portsmouth, said: ‘We know people are looking forward to reaping the benefits of full fibre connectivity and we thank them for their patience while we continue to roll out the infrastructure.

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‘The speeds, reliability, and near infinite bandwidths will allow residents of Portsmouth to enjoy world class connectivity so they can stream, play and work the way they want to. We look forward to working with the community in years to come to make full fibre available to even more homes.’

To check whether your home can benefit, visit Giganet’s website here: http://bit.ly/GiganetFirstHomes

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Related topics:PortsmouthGiganet

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