13th Nov 2014 08:33
LONDON (Alliance News) - CityFibre Infrastructure Holdings PLC said Thursday that it has signed a long term national framework agreement with mobile network operators EE LTD and Hutchison 3G UK Ltd, along with their infrastructure joint venture Mobile Broadband Network Ltd, to deploy a dark fibre-to-the-tower service.
Dark fibre is cabling that is already in the ground, but has not yet been connected to carry traffic.
Under the deal CityFibre will deploy dark fibre backhaul connections to mobile masts across both EE and Three's networks, which it said will help improve network performance capabilities, and offer long term cost efficiencies.
These sort of connections have not previously been deployed in the UK, although CityFibre said they are already widely established in North America and Continental Europe.
The first project in the framework is already underway in Kingston-upon-Hull, where CityFibre is overhauling Mobile Broadband Network's network. The companies are "already examining" how this dark fibre could be rolled out to further towns and cities under the agreement, it said.
CityFibre did not disclose financial terms of the contract, but said they are within its previously stated guidance in regards to total contract value to capital expenditure coverage.
"The deployment in Hull is a critical first step in promoting the adoption of dark fibre solutions for FTTT in the UK market, as well as establishing CityFibre as the partner of choice for Mobile Network Operators and wireless infrastructure providers seeking to migrate to dark fibre solutions on a national scale," said Chief Executive Officer Greg Mesch in a statement.
Shares in CityFibre are trading up 7.9% at 68.00 pence Thursday morning.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; [email protected]; @HanaSSAllNews
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