Full fibre broadband upgrade announced for St Ives, Cornwall

Openreach has announced that this ‘once-in-a-generation’ full fibre broadband upgrade will allow local people to connect multiple devices at gigabit-capable speeds and help businesses trade online and compete for decades.

Engineers have already begun work in the town in Cornwall and the build is expected to reach many local homes and businesses in the next 12 months.

Full-fibre broadband installation works have already begun in St Ives (Image: Openreach) “Full fibre broadband provides more reliable, resilient and future-proof connectivity; with fewer faults, more predictable, consistent speeds and enough capacity to easily meet growing data demands,” said a spokesperson for Openreach.

Residents will be able to enjoy a host of online services and entertainment, including seamless streaming and smooth online gaming. The technology also supports day-to-day business-critical tasks such as video games, banking, and online customer interactions.

Martin Williams, Openreach partnership director, said: “We’re bringing ultrafast broadband to St Ives and letting people know what to expect.

“This is a major infrastructure upgrade, so there will be more engineering teams, equipment and vans around town, and we’re working hard to keep disruption to a minimum.

Engineers have already begun work in the town and the build is expected to reach many local homes and businesses in the next 12 months (Image: Openreach) “Wherever possible, we’ll use our existing network of ducts and poles to avoid roadworks, new street furniture and disturbance.

“But there may be places where we need to install new poles, underground ducts and fibre cables because it’s the only way to ensure households get included in the upgrade.”

He added: “St Ives is part of our balanced build across the South West. We want to make sure that progress is evenly spread and that people in all parts of the region can be online effortlessly and build opportunities in their community.

“Connecting everyone in the South West to our fastest and most reliable broadband would result in a multi-billion pound economic boost.”

Openreach’s new ultrafast Full Fibre network in the South West now reaches more than one million properties, and the company plans to roll out the new technology to 25 million homes and businesses by the end of 2026.

Local people can visit openreach.co.uk/ultrafastfullfibre to register for updates and, as the build progresses, check their addresses to see when services are available from their chosen provider.