Latest news with #Gigaclear
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Deal reached in row over rural broadband failures
A settlement deal has been reached in a dispute between a local authority and a broadband provider. Essex County Council brought legal action against Gigaclear last July after it failed to provide almost 400 rural homes with ultrafast broadband. The company had been awarded four contracts in 2015 to build a full fibre network across Braintree, Colchester, Epping and Uttlesford. A joint statement did not provide details of the settlement agreement, but said Gigaclear was "committed to expanding the network" over the next 18 months. The firm, based in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, had been accused of breaching three of its four contracts. Those deals were expected to bring ultrafast broadband to more than 10,000 addresses across Essex. It came as part of the previous government's superfast broadband scheme, which was branded Superfast Essex locally. But a total of 381 homes have been left without the service as a result of delays, with Great Dunmow and Thaxted being the worst affected areas. A statement on behalf of both the council and Gigaclear confirmed the parties had agreed a settlement. "The council welcomes Gigaclear's continued investment and broadband rollout in the region," it said. "This news is especially positive for residents who experience a lack of broadband connectivity in the affected areas." Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Council brings legal action over broadband contracts Essex County Council Gigaclear
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Deal reached in row over rural broadband failures
A settlement deal has been reached in a dispute between a local authority and a broadband provider. Essex County Council brought legal action against Gigaclear last July after it failed to provide almost 400 rural homes with ultrafast broadband. The company had been awarded four contracts in 2015 to build a full fibre network across Braintree, Colchester, Epping and Uttlesford. A joint statement did not provide details of the settlement agreement, but said Gigaclear was "committed to expanding the network" over the next 18 months. The firm, based in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, had been accused of breaching three of its four contracts. Those deals were expected to bring ultrafast broadband to more than 10,000 addresses across Essex. It came as part of the previous government's superfast broadband scheme, which was branded Superfast Essex locally. But a total of 381 homes have been left without the service as a result of delays, with Great Dunmow and Thaxted being the worst affected areas. A statement on behalf of both the council and Gigaclear confirmed the parties had agreed a settlement. "The council welcomes Gigaclear's continued investment and broadband rollout in the region," it said. "This news is especially positive for residents who experience a lack of broadband connectivity in the affected areas." Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Council brings legal action over broadband contracts Essex County Council Gigaclear
BBC News
09-04-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Gigaclear and Essex County Council reach deal in contract dispute
A settlement deal has been reached in a dispute between a local authority and a broadband County Council brought legal action against Gigaclear last July after it failed to provide almost 400 rural homes with ultrafast company had been awarded four contracts in 2015 to build a full fibre network across Braintree, Colchester, Epping and Uttlesford.A joint statement did not provide details of the settlement agreement, but said Gigaclear was "committed to expanding the network" over the next 18 months. The firm, based in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, had been accused of breaching three of its four deals were expected to bring ultrafast broadband to more than 10,000 addresses across came as part of the previous government's superfast broadband scheme, which was branded Superfast Essex a total of 381 homes have been left without the service as a result of delays, with Great Dunmow and Thaxted being the worst affected areas.A statement on behalf of both the council and Gigaclear confirmed the parties had agreed a settlement."The council welcomes Gigaclear's continued investment and broadband rollout in the region," it said."This news is especially positive for residents who experience a lack of broadband connectivity in the affected areas." Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Yahoo
23-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Work to bring high-speed broadband to villages welcomed by resident
Work to bring high-speed broadband to two Oxfordshire villages has been welcomed by a local resident. John Edwards, who lives in Stratton Audley, near Bicester, with his wife and daughter, says living in a rural area should be no reason not to have access to fast and reliable broadband. Mr Edwards said: "Living here is delightful in so many ways, not least the lovely, peaceful, historic surroundings, but with the advent of ultrafast full fibre, there should be no reason why we can't also have 21st-century communications too. "We use it for pretty much everything, computers, tablets, mobile phones, smart TVs, and several smart appliances, but as our lives are becoming more bandwidth-hungry, I've noticed our existing part-fibre broadband is increasingly slowing down, and there are glitches, particularly in the evening." The work, also being carried out in Horley, near Banbury, is being undertaken by Abingdon-based Gigaclear, a rural, full-fibre broadband provider. In 2023, the company was awarded two government-funded Project Gigabit contracts, with a total subsidy of £25.4 million, to extend its full-fibre network to remote communities in the county. Councillor Liz Leffman, leader of Oxfordshire County Council, said: "Full fibre broadband infrastructure is a critical foundation to enable our ambition for a fairer, greener, and healthier Oxfordshire. Councillor Liz Leffman (Image: Oxfordshire County Council) "As a publicly-funded intervention, Project Gigabit will help to ensure residents and businesses in rural and hard-to-reach parts of the county are not left behind in being able to access crucial digital services and is a route to enabling clean growth of our economy. "We also welcome the work being contracted to a local Oxfordshire company, Gigaclear." Telecoms Minister Sir Chris Bryant added: "For many homes and businesses across Oxfordshire, the frustrations of buffering will soon be forgotten as they get access to lightning-fast internet speeds. "Thanks to this government-funded programme, hard-to-reach parts of Oxfordshire are now being equipped with the fastest speeds on the market, allowing residents in Horley and Stratton Audley to access vital online services, like lectures and calls with a doctor." Gigaclear expects to complete the two contracts by November 2026, which will see dozens of communities connected. Nathan Rundle, the company's CEO, said: "Our mission is to bring full fibre ultrafast broadband to Britain's rural communities, and this is exactly what Project Gigabit has been set up to achieve. "We have already made a significant investment in building our network in Oxfordshire, and as a local business based in Abingdon, it is important to us that we continue to improve digital inclusion in the county, and to bring our home-grown full fibre broadband to local residents."
Telegraph
19-02-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Broadband debt squeeze threatens taxpayers and rail pensioners' savings
One of Britain's fledgling broadband providers is facing a spiralling financial crunch that threatens to impact the retirement savings of hundreds of thousands of railway workers and the British taxpayer. Gigaclear is battling to plug a hole in its finances after one of its biggest investors rowed back on a commitment to provide hundreds of millions of pounds in critical funding. The financial crunch threatens to impact the £25bn Railways Pension Scheme (Railpen), which is a key investor in the broadband challenger outfit. Meanwhile, Britain's sovereign wealth fund is a guarantor to a big slice of its borrowings. Gigaclear, which targets its services at rural areas, has been left scrambling after struggling to secure promised cash from private equity firm Equitix. As part of a capital-raising exercise at the end of 2023, Gigaclear secured a pledge from Equitix to provide £420m of fresh capital to help bankroll the expansion of its network. However, Equitix has only injected a portion of what it committed to and is reluctant to invest more, according to financial newswire ION Analytics. Its investment was part of a broader financial package that included a new £1.5bn debt facility provided by a consortium of domestic and foreign banks. The UK Infrastructure Bank, which was re-badged as the National Wealth Fund in October, guaranteed £240m of the loans. It is solely owned and backed by the Treasury. Railpen became an investor in Gigaclear as part of an earlier cash injection in 2017, putting £45m into the company. Consultancy firm Teneo, a financial restructuring and insolvency specialist, has been hired to lead Gigaclear's search for alternative sources of funding. Gigaclear is one of a number of broadband challengers seeking to compete with former state monopoly BT. When interest rates were low, several start-ups seeking to build ultra-fast, full-fibre broadband networks sprang up. However, the vast sums of money required to build these networks have left finances stretched, particularly after interest rates surged in the wake of the pandemic. Billions of pounds have been poured into so-called alt-net brands in an attempt to boost competition in the broadband market but many have come unstuck after underestimating the sheer cost of building rival networks. In September, Gigaclear announced it would join other rivals in reining in expansion. It unveiled plans to cut jobs as part of 'planning for the next stage of its development', pledging to 're-focus on ultra-rural areas'. The company plunged deeper into the red in the most recent financial year, as pre-tax losses spiralled from £21.7m to £138.3m in 2023. Annual turnover of £33.8m was eclipsed by finance costs of £71.4m. Operating expenses jumped from £63.7m to £91.9m, and it ended the year with £10m of cash, down from £27m the previous year. Gigaclear was established in 2011 and at the last count had connected 560,000 premises in the UK, though 120,000 were signed up as customers. Though growth has accelerated in recent years, the firm is still a long way off hitting a target of 1m premises by 2027. Philip Jansen, the former BT boss, once predicted: 'There is only going to be one national network.' BT's faster and more reliable broadband roll-out would 'end in tears' for many of the underdogs, he said.
