Full-fibre broadband provider Truespeed has committed £6m to significantly expand its full-fibre provision across Bath, taking its total investment rollout in its home city to £11m.
The move will widen its network to make it available to 21,000 properties, including in Batheaston, Bathampton and Bathford.
Earlier this year Truespeed said it aimed to more than double the size of its network this year, targeting more than 120,000 properties while also doubling the number of connected customers.
The firm launched in Bath in 2014 as a community interest company with a mission to provide ultrafast, ultra-reliable broadband across the region.
It went on to become one of the city’s business success stories, raising £175m from the global asset management arm of UK-based insurance giant Aviva and now employing more than 250 people.
Last year Truespeed extended its network to Peasedown St John, Midsomer Norton, Keynsham, Saltford and Radstock – where it spent £8m – and Bathwick, Widcombe and Combe Down – where £4m was spent.
Truespeed chief executive James Lowther said: “Since we started we’ve been bringing ultrafast broadband to rural, semi-urban and suburban areas across the South West.
“To now expand our coverage in our home city of Bath marks a key milestone for the company.
“With our headquarters and team based here, investing in our own streets to support the city with the benefits of full fibre is a true privilege.
“We’re also proud to be increasing employment, supporting economic growth and enabling innovation across the city.”
Truespeed says with more people working from home, streaming content and turning to online entertainment, the need for seamless broadband provision has never been greater.
Research in 2020 revealed the average UK home had 10.3 broadband-enabled devices1 intrinsic to the smooth running of its day-to-day lives – from remotely operated thermostats, security cameras, smart meters to TVs, mobile phones, tablets and gaming consoles.
However, with the average speed of home broadband at less than 60 Mbps2, many struggled with connections that continually lagged and poor broadband speeds.
Over the coming months Truespeed will work closely with Bath & North East Somerset Council and the community to keep residents updated on any potential temporary roadworks or cabling as its engineers connect streets and homes to the network.
