Quickline Joins CityFibre's Network

RNS Number : 1723M

Bigblu Broadband PLC

19 January 2021

 

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 ("MAR"). Upon the publication of this announcement, the inside information is now considered to be in the public domain for the purposes of MAR.

Bigblu Broadband plc

('BBB' or the 'Company' or the 'Group')

Quickline Joins CityFibre's Network

To deliver Gigabit home broadband services in four locations across England

Bigblu Broadband plc (AIM: BBB.L), a leading provider of alternative super-fast and ultra-fast broadband services, a nnounces that its subsidiary Quickline Communications Limited ("Quickline") has joined CityFibre's full fibre networks to deliver Gigabit home broadband services in four locations across England.

CityFibre is the UK's third national digital infrastructure platform and is currently engaged in an up to £4 billion Gigabit City Investment Programme. By joining its network, Quickline's ultrafast full fibre services will be available to homes in Doncaster, Leeds, Huddersfield and Batley & Dewsbury throughout 2021 - further strengthening its reach within Yorkshire and the surrounding areas.

Quickline is focussed on delivering improved broadband connectivity in the rural areas of Northern England, where a significant digital divide remains and hundreds of thousands of premises are in need of increased broadband speeds. Quickline's heritage is fixed wireless but its network includes increasing amounts of fibre connectivity.  Its aim is to be the leading UK dedicated rural broadband infrastructure provider, delivering innovative, flexible and hybrid solutions that can address the millions of premises unlikely to be served commercially by full fibre networks for many years to come.

Andrew Walwyn, Chief Executive Officer of Bigblu Broadband, commented : "We are delighted that this enables Quickline to further expand its gigabit service reach. We have seen the rapid progress made by Quickline in recent months and this provides further validation of its capabilities. We look forward to working closely with CityFibre in further closing the digital divide."

Rob Hamlin, Chief Commercial Officer at CityFibre, added : "By welcoming Quickline to our networks, we are making fast and reliable broadband available to even more people across the country. With most of us more reliant on our home broadband than ever, it is important that communities can choose from the best services available. We are excited to work with Quickline in the months and years ahead as we continue to expand."

For further information:

Bigblu Broadband Group PLC	www.bbb-plc.com
Andrew Walwyn, Chief Executive Officer Frank Waters, Chief Financial Officer Dom Del Mar, Corporate Development	Via Walbrook PR
finnCap (Nomad and Broker) Marc Milmo / Simon Hicks / Charlie Beeson (Corporate Finance) Tim Redfern / Richard Chambers / Manasa Patil (ECM)	Tel: [phone]
Walbrook PR (PR / IR advisers)	Tel: [phone] or
Nick Rome/Tom Cooper/Nicholas Johnson	[e-mail]

About Bigblu Broadband plc

Bigblu Broadband plc (AIM: BBB), is a leading provider of alternative super-fast and ultra-fast broadband solutions throughout Australia, the Nordics and parts of the UK. BBB delivers a portfolio of super-fast wireless broadband products for consumers and businesses unserved or underserved by fibre. The Group has a significant target market with 3m customers in the territories we operate in with speeds of under 4 Mbps.

High levels of recurring revenue, increasing economies of scale and Government stimulation of the alternative broadband market in the countries we operate in provide a solid foundation for strong organic growth as demand for alternative super-fast broadband services increases in the territories we operate in. 

Acquisitive and organic growth enabled BBB to grow rapidly since inception in 2008 during which time the Company completed 21 acquisitions across nine different countries. In September 2020, BBB concluded the sale of its UK and European Satellite business to Eutelsat, offering an excellent return for shareholders. With the remaining businesses -   consisting of its Australian operations (Skymesh Pty Limited), its majority interest in Quickline (QCL Holdings Limited) and its Nordics business (Bigblu Norge AS)   , BBB is extremely well positioned to continue growing as it targets customers that are trapped in the 'digital divide' with limited fibre broadband options.

BBB continues to provide customers significant ongoing services in the territories present including hardware supply, installation, pre and post-sale support billings and collections, whilst offering appropriate tariffs depending on the requirements of each end user in each territory. BBB's range of solutions includes satellite, next generation fixed wireless and 4G/5G delivering between 30 Mbps and 150 Mbps for consumers, and up to 1 Gbps for businesses.

Importantly, as core technologies evolve, and more affordable capacity is made available, BBB continues to offer ever-increasing speeds and higher data throughputs to satisfy market demands for 'video-on- demand'. Its alternative broadband offerings present a customer experience that is similar to that offered by wired broadband and the connection can be shared in the normal way with PCs, tablets and smart-phones via a normal wired or wireless router.

About CityFibre:

CityFibre is the UK's third national digital infrastructure platform. With existing networks in more than 60 towns and cities, CityFibre provides wholesale connectivity to multiple business and consumer service providers, local authorities and mobile operators.

CityFibre has network rollouts underway with plans to pass up to 8 million homes and businesses with open-access full fibre infrastructure. A growing number of Gigabit City projects have been announced for full-city rollouts and CityFibre continues to prime its existing network assets for expansion.

CityFibre is based in London and is jointly controlled by Antin Infrastructure Partners and West Street Infrastructure Partners.

 

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