Talktalk Telecom : and Sky partner with CityFibre

TalkTalk Telecom Group PLC

TalkTalk and Sky partner with CityFibre to Launch Ultra-Fast Broadband

Sky and TalkTalk today announce that they have joined forces with CityFibre to create a new company that will deliver ultra-fast broadband services in the City of York. The new joint venture company plans to build a state of the art, city-wide, pure fibre-to-the-premise (FTTP) network to deliver broadband speeds of 1 Gigabit (1000 Mbps) direct to tens of thousands of homes and businesses in York, offering customers better quality and value. 

The new network will leverage CityFibre's existing metro fibre infrastructure in the City. Once the ultra-fast network is in place, Sky and TalkTalk will retail competing broadband services over the new infrastructure, with the first York customers expected to be connected in 2015.

The joint venture plans to work with leading global technology provider Fujitsu to deploy the pure fibre FTTP network. It will enable Sky and TalkTalk to offer customers better value for higher speeds than is currently available, increasing both choice and innovation in broadband for consumers. 

The roll out will give Sky, TalkTalk and CityFibre the opportunity to fully test a new cost effective approach to building a viable pure fibre network, independent from BT Openreach's infrastructure. The parties also intend to bring ultra-fast broadband to two further cities across the UK and will announce further details about the selection of the cities in due course.

This will be the first time ever that a UK city has been connected with such high speeds on a city-wide basis. The parties will work in partnership with the local community to help ensure the network delivers the numerous benefits better broadband can provide, including helping to grow the local economy and supporting York businesses to better compete in the UK and abroad. 

Further details about the new service in York, including branding and launch date, and Sky and TalkTalk's customer propositions and pricing, will be confirmed in due course.

Dido Harding, Chief Executive of TalkTalk Group , said:

"TalkTalk has a long history and proven track record of disrupting new markets, and this is the next step in that journey. We are excited to be working in partnership with Sky and CityFibre to build this new network that will offer significantly higher speeds at much better value than is currently available. This marks TalkTalk taking its first steps into investing in building infrastructure as part of our mission to make British homes and businesses better off."  

Stephen van Rooyen, Managing Director of Sky's Sales, Marketing and Brand Group , said:

"Increased competition in the broadband market has brought benefits to millions of households who now enjoy better quality and value of service.  Sky has led the growth of the sector since the launch of Sky Broadband, becoming the UK's favourite provider of TV, broadband and home phone, and we see plenty of opportunity to continue to develop our offering. This trial will help us understand the potential for cutting-edge technology to help us give customers an even better quality of service and we're looking forward to working in partnership with TalkTalk and CityFibre."

Greg Mesch, Chief Executive of CityFibre , said:

"As a business that believes in the transformative potential of pure fibre infrastructure and gigabit speeds to stimulate growth and innovation this partnership is great news for UK plc. Working with two of the largest and most forward-thinking service providers in the UK we will continue to extend our existing metro fibre infrastructure and introduce a new generation of gigabit speed services to homes and businesses."

Cllr James Alexander, Leader of City of York council said: "This announcement makes York the digital infrastructure capital of the UK. Gaining ultra-fast broadband across the city is a huge boost for our economy; providing significant new opportunities for businesses based here and better quality and value to our residents.

"I'm delighted that York has been chosen as the first city, building on work over the last two years to improve the city's digital infrastructure, and that we'll see this in place as soon as 2015".

There will be a conference call for analysts and investors starting at 8.00am  

Call and webcast details

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Replay (available for 7 days)

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Analysts and Investors

Mal Patel                             +44 (0) 20 3417 1037

Media

Alex Birtles                        +44 (0) 20 3417 1383