British full fibre broadband provider G.Network has announced plans to invest more than GBP1 billion (USD1.3 billion) in rolling out its infrastructure in London, following a successful fund-raising exercise. In a press release regarding the development, the company noted that its fundraise included a new equity investment of up to GBP295 million over six years by USS, the UK’s largest private pension scheme by way of assets. In addition to this, G.Network said it had secured debt of up to GBP745 million from four banks, ‘contingent on passing certain milestones’.
According to G.Network, it is currently working with eight local authorities in the capital, and now aims to extend the rollout of its open access network to a further five, and connect at least 80% of premises in each of these. In the next five years the operator has said it plans to dig around 4,500km of streets, reaching approximately 1.4 million premises in the capital, including many in underserved areas. It has claimed the rollout will create more than 1,250 new jobs, while bringing competitively-priced high speed broadband to residents and businesses.
Commenting on the investment, Sasho Veselinski, G.Network’s CEO, said: ‘High speed, reliable connectivity is critical to the home and work lives of Londoners. That’s why G.Network is undertaking a fundamental upgrade of the capital’s telecoms infrastructure from copper to fibre. We are rebuilding London’s broadband from the fibre up, bringing first-class connectivity to residents and businesses without expecting them to pay more. We’re very pleased to be working with USS, Cube and our banking partners on this project, and look forward to many years of successful partnership.’