Work to transform Slough into one of the world’s best digitally connected towns kicked off yesterday.

As part of a £24m private investment from CityFibre, Slough will benefit from a town-wide full fibre network roll-out that will build on earlier investment in Slough’s business connectivity and make it accessible to all.

This is estimated have a major impact in Slough over the next 15 years, adding as much as £51m to the value of local homes.

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Construction work has officially commenced in Slough’s Trading Estate area, with the rest of the town set to follow.

VolkerSmart Technologies is delivering the construction programme on CityFibre’s behalf, working closely with Slough Borough Council and local communities to manage disruption. Residents are being kept informed by mailings ahead of works in their streets.

Stacey King, CityFibre’s City Manager for Slough, said: “Full Fibre broadband will help households access all the latest entertainment at lightning speed, but the benefits are far deeper than that – from enabling smart home technology to giving people the freedom to work from home with ease.

“The investment also comes at a critical time for Slough’s forward-thinking business community. It won’t just improve business locally – it will also help businesses take their products or services to an international audience.”

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Councillor James Swindlehurst, leader at Slough Borough Council, said: “It is fantastic that CityFibre is now ready to start delivering on its infrastructure programme to bring a future-proofed, Full Fibre digital network to Slough.

"This will bring many benefits to residents and businesses alike and create opportunities for our local economy to grow and prosper well into the next generation.”

Currently, fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) is only available to around 16 per cent of premises across the UK. By using fibre optic cables for every stage of the connection from the customer’s home or business to the Internet, users in Slough will be offered a broadband service capable of Gigabit speeds (1,000 Mbps).

Residents interested in connecting to full fibre broadband can pre-register their interest at cityfibre.com/residential and will receive information when services are available.