Ingatestone’s first resident now connected to BeFibre’s new full-fibre broadband

John Lee of The Furlongs, contacted BeFibre when the privately-funded infrastructure project was initially announced. And John is now equipped with fit-for-the-future broadband which promises download and upload speeds up to 13 times faster than the fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) coverage that currently spans the majority of the UK*. 

The announcement marks the village’s official launch of the fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) connectivity, following five months of preparations to design, build, and test the network. Utilising existing ducts without having to dig up Ingatestone’s roads, the firm’s strategy from day one has been to adopt quicker and less disruptive build methods, to lower roll out costs, increase efficiency, and minimise the environmental impact of the network deployment.

“As someone who works from home most of the time, my FTTC connection simply wasn’t what our household needed,” explained John. “BeFibre has given me double the download and seven times better upload speeds for just £3 more than I was paying my previous provider, and given our location, we knew our incumbent provider wouldn’t be rolling out FTTP anytime soon.

“The installation was quick and hassle-free. A couple of days before the installation, it only took a few hours’ work to get from pavement to house, and on the day itself, about 30 minutes after the installer arrived, the BeFibre router sprang to life and was happily churning out 150M of speed both ways! So far, I’m very happy.”

Committed to working closely with local authorities and stakeholders in every new area the team enters, the bold internet service provider BeFibre has been extremely vocal about its commitment to transforming how communities live, work, and play. 

Commenting on the introduction of BeFibre’s full-fibre connectivity to Ingatestone, Brentwood Borough Council’s Deputy Leader, Cllr Cliff Poppy, said: “Congratulations to John Lee. It’s great to see BeFibre continuing its investment in the borough to drive forward digital connectivity for our residents and businesses, especially now when more people than ever are working from home.”

“This is a fiercely crowded market,” explained BeFibre’s chief customer and operations officer, Louise Elliott, “However, by not breaking promises, giving customers guaranteed speeds, and delivering first-class customer service, this is broadband as it should be. We’re providing local communities with a fit-for-the-future infrastructure that delivers the guaranteed speeds people need now and for years to come.

“After all, we need greater connectivity than ever before – whether we’re busy with video calls, working from home, binging on box-sets, or gaming. In truth, our hunger for being online is only going to grow. The broadband market therefore needs to evolve – and quickly. Only 24% of UK homes currently have access to full fibre services, so waiting for one of the big providers to reach every town and city in the country isn’t an option.”

BeFibre has unveiled four broadband packages to suit the diverse needs of Ingatestone’s different residents. With the brand’s classic package starting at £29 per month – typically twice as fast as properties’ existing service and with the first three months offered for free – there are also higher speed options, to suit busy families, multi-device households, and even gaming professionals.

BeFibre plans to provide gigabit-capable connectivity to up to 1,000,000 premises by 2027. £100m of private investment has been made available to support the firm to reach 80 towns and cities over the next five years, but Ingatestone has always featured early in the network roadmap.

Offering a concluding thought, BeFibre’s CEO, Charlie Ruddy, said: “Despite our historic innovation in this space, the UK lags significantly behind overseas nations when it comes to full fibre. In fact, the country is currently ranked 35^th in terms of our broadband speeds – up from 47^th in 2020, but still down from 34^th in 2019. We have to change this.”

Check if BeFibre is available in your area here.