Three UK fibre companies have come together under the new umbrella organisation i4 Technology Group, aiming to deliver faster fibre infrastructure to the UK.
The group, comprising British Fibre Networks, Pure Fibre Zone, and Pure Fibre Housing, is led by fibre entrepreneur and former founder of the i3 Group, Elfed Thomas.
Former Wales international rugby star, Rupert Moon, joins the i4 board as Head of Business Development.
Based in Bangor, Wales, the new consortium seeks to boost the number of UK premises with access to full fibre broadband – currently 7 per cent – and help to meet the Government-set target for 15 million connected premises by 2025.
It comes at a time when each of the three companies is stepping up its expansion drive across the UK.
British Fibre Networks, launched in early 2018, provides pure fibre infrastructure to new build homes, and offers homeowners a choice of Internet Service Provider (ISP). It is working on sites across the UK with house builders including Rippon Homes and Mulgrave Properties.
Also launched in 2018, Pure Fibre Zone connects communities, building ultra-fast fibre networks for homes and businesses and installing Wi-Fi mesh to enable quicker mobile connectivity.
Its first zone is in the North Wales town of Colwyn Bay, where deployment of the network is currently taking place, with further zones identified along the Welsh coastline.
Pure Fibre Housing, recently launched in 2019, is a non-profit Community Interest Company (CIC) that provides full fibre infrastructure to housing association homes. It is already working with several social housing groups, and has just completed its first project with Cartrefi Gywnedd, one of the biggest housing associations in North Wales.
Rupert Moon will oversee the growth strategy of each business, initially focusing on the rollout of Pure Fibre Zone across Wales.
“There is no reason why the UK should be lagging so far behind the rest of Europe in its fibre connectivity,” said Moon.
“The average availability of full fibre broadband across the EU’s 28 countries is 36.4 per cent, compared to our 7 per cent – a shocking statistic for an apparently forward-looking country.
“I’m going to bring my experience in rapidly growing companies to ensure that i4 is able to roll outs its infrastructure across the UK. We believe that pure fibre should be accessible to everyone, and between the i4 Technology Group’s subsidiaries, we want to make sure no one is left behind.”