UFO lands in Poppleton! Residents are wired up to York’s superfast broadband

The superfast UFO from TalkTalk is on track to transform York into the UK’s first Ultra Fibre Optic city as it ramps up its full fibre roll-out programme.

It has just brought gigabit broadband speeds (1000 Mbps) to residents in Poppleton for the first time.

The full fibre network now spans more than 33,000 homes and businesses and is on track to reach up to 55,000 across York by 2020.

York’s UFO from TalkTalk has helped to significantly improve the quality of broadband across the city. It delivers gigabit speeds by laying full fibre all the way from the exchange into individual homes or businesses.

Full fibre is said to be 20 times faster, more stable and reliable than other ‘fibre’ products. Gigabit speeds allow you to download a two-hour HD film in several seconds or 100 songs in three seconds, tasks that currently take more than 25 minutes and eight minutes on a standard broadband connection.

Work moves east

Poppleton joins Dringhouses, Woodthorpe, Foxwood, Chapelfields and parts of Holgate which were recently connected to the network.

So far, the roll out has seen 308 kilometres of fibre optic cabling being laid under the streets of York.

Digging has recently started in Heworth and Tang Hall as work moves to the East of the city.

Alex Birtles, director of fibre-to-the-premise at TalkTalk, visited Poppleton last week with Cllr Ian Gillies, Leader of the City of York Council. Alex said:

• We’re committed to unlocking York’s full digital potential and transforming it into the UK’s first Ultra Fibre Optic city.

  Residents in Poppleton will now be able to enjoy the benefits of our full fibre broadband and we’re on track to complete our network expansion across the city by 2020.
  

Cllr Gillies said the council is “committed to ensuring that every area of the city is connected to the fastest speeds possible.

“Investment from connectivity providers plays an important role in creating a future-ready, digital city and with more and more homes due to be connected this year it is an exciting time for the city.”

Residents in the north of the city in Rawcliffe, Clifton, Huntington, New Earswick, along with parts of The Groves have been able to connect to the network for the last three years.