THOUSANDS of people in Swindon will soon be getting superfast broadband as part of a £40 million investment from CityFibre.

Swindon Borough Council gave the internet provider permission to connect all council-owned properties to the new state-of-the-art fibre network it is building across the town.

More than 10,000 homes managed by the local authority will be among the first to connect to the network now that the blanket agreement has been signed.

The new partnership between the council and CityFibre will help the company continue its rollout smoothly and reach social housing sites as well as other homes and businesses in the area.

Neil Madle is the provider's city manager for Swindon. He said: "Swindon is set to become one of the best-connected towns in the country and this new agreement brings its full fibre future one significant step closer.

"This means the council’s tenants will be able to access our new gigabit-capable network if they wish to.

"We can’t wait to connect communities across the town to our network so they can reap the benefits that come with future-proof digital connectivity.”

Work on the town's new full fibre network kicked off in October 2020, with construction now well underway.

Once the entire build has been completed in 2024, almost every home and business in Swindon will have access to full fibre broadband.

The network is live with services available from an increasing range of broadband providers with TalkTalk, Fibrehop, Zen, Giganet and Vodafone already in place and providing what has been hailed as 'next generation' broadband to neighbours

Full fibre networks are said to be the digital infrastructure of the future for homes and businesses. With near unlimited bandwidth, full fibre aims to ensure households can use the latest smart home technology, stream entertainment across multiple devices and make it easier to work from home, with little to no buffering or lag.

Sanjay Sudra, CityFibre’s strategic wayleave manager, said: “This agreement has been many months in planning and would not have come to fruition if it wasn’t for the dedication and support of key CityFibre and Swindon Borough Council staff.

"Their hard work will provide tenants in Swindon with access to next-generation broadband, serving up benefits for years to come. Congratulations all involved.”

To register interest in securing a next generation broadband service, visit cityfibre/homes