5th July 2022

Fibre & Wireless Networks secures £25m funding package to expand roll out of full-fibre broadband

F&W Networks Ltd, the full-fibre network infrastructure company, today announced it has received a £25m funding package from Santander UK. The funding will enable F&W Networks to expand the roll-out of its fibre infrastructure network in the South of England.

As one of the larger full-fibre network infrastructure builders, F&W Networks is rapidly expanding its footprint of 150k homes, with the aim to reach over 1 million homes by 2025. This £25m package will give F&W Networks the necessary funding to deploy Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) into additional mid-size cities and rural areas within the UK.

Currently, only 33%* of UK households have access to full-fibre connectivity. The UK Government’s focus on speeding up the roll-out of full-fibre and its Project Gigabit scheme, an infrastructure project to enable and deliver fast and reliable digital connectivity, has promoted the growth of alternative network providers.

Jonathan Corcoran, Director, Specialised and Project Finance at Santander UK, said: “We are delighted to provide F&W Networks with this £25m funding package. Santander UK is proud to support companies like F&W Networks that are playing a crucial role in connecting homes, businesses, and other key organisations with full fibre technology throughout the UK.”

As a result of this partnership, F&W Networks looks to expand within the counties it is already active in, ensuring that the funding package from Santander UK is used to enhance its rollout capacity and deliver better connections to the communities it serves.

*Source: Ofcom – Connected Nations update: Spring 2022