Charles Kitchin, City Manager for CityFibre in Cambridge, writes:
First and foremost, I want to say a massive thank you to the Cambridge community. You have welcomed our ambition to bring full fibre digital connectivity to almost every home and business in Cambridge, making the city one of the best connected in Europe.
In order to get to where we are today, a massive amount of sustained mobilisation has taken place to engage with local stakeholders, communities and the supply chain, bringing the network within reach of King’s Hedges, Arbury and Chesterton - generating dozens of jobs across the country. We understand that delivering projects of this scale can cause disruption to residents, and as we move into our second year, we will continue to uphold our commitment to manage this as far as we possibly can.
The current crisis we face with the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated how essential fast, reliable internet connectivity is both for residents, businesses and public services. As a result, the UK Government has designated CityFibre construction work as essential and we will continue to expand the nation’s digital capacity, including in Cambridge. Of course, all contractors are being instructed to follow the social distancing protocols as outlined by Public Health England to ensure build partners’ safety.
Right at the heart of what we are trying to achieve are the communities of Cambridge we will serve. And make no mistake, full fibre internet will have a transformative effect on these communities. With gigabit speeds, it will allow for seamless multi-device streaming, buffer free video calling and real-time gaming, as well as providing support for the effective adoption of flexible working practices and the delivery of public services we are relying so much on at the moment, such as healthcare, education and social services.
It is a privilege to lead the roll out of full fibre connectivity to Cambridge and we look forward to connecting even more homes and businesses in the weeks and months ahead.
Gigabit Cambridge. Fully connected. Full speed ahead!