UK ISP KCom plans to spend £100 million to build a complete fiber infrastructure in the northeast of England, a move that could help it cope with growing competition in the UK fiber market.
ISP KCom, the incumbent operator in and around Hull, said the £62 million sum - which will fund the expansion of the high-speed network to 50,000 homes and businesses in 14 towns and villages in the region - will be used to fund the expansion of the network. It will also spend £10 million to upgrade 14,000 properties in East Yorkshire that currently do not have full fibre, £17 million to replace copper wires in Hull with fibre, and £10 million on long-term upgrades to its existing fibre network to increase download speeds to 10 Gbps.
Chief executive Tim Shaw issued a statement in which he waxed lyrical about the telco's recent network investment plans, starting with a review of the fibre network to be completed in Hull in 2019. Notably, Hull became the country's first full-fiber broadband city "more than a decade before the rest of the UK," which might be an odd comment given that it's now only 2022. But anyway...
KCom has announced its first £100 million plan to add 100,000 properties in East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire by 2020, the latter beyond its traditional footprint. Shortly after the operator announced its £627, the investment plan was probably not coincidentally acquired by Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Estate.
Nearly three years on, another £100 million has been spent on the operator's infrastructure. Or as Shaw puts it, "Now we're moving forward again in the same pioneering spirit." That sounds like an overstatement, considering how much the UK market has changed in recent years, both in the region where KCom is based and further afield.
The main difference is that regional fiber manufacturers are springing up left, right and center, and in many places we're looking at overbuilding and pretty stiff competition.
This month, East of England fiber provider Upp celebrated the one-year anniversary of its first connected customer, and a look at its website shows its planned footprint moving in the direction of KCom. Meanwhile, PE-backed Quickline moved into its new headquarters in East Yorkshire in August, and says it plans to double its 130-strong workforce in the next year. There are others.
It's the fine line between "pioneering" and "keeping up".
Still, another £100 million being channelled into the UK's infrastructure is certainly a good thing for the country, and not just for those who live in areas earmarked for upgrading.
"This £100 million investment demonstrates our confidence in our business, our region and our future as we make our region one of the best connected in the UK and beyond," Shaw said. "This investment will provide a significant boost to the local economy, creating dozens of technology jobs and strengthening the local supply chain."
KCom said the new construction program will create 50 new technical engineering jobs in the region. In addition, the telco will invest £500,000 over the next three years to expand its digital inclusion program.
