CityFibre and Fujitsu to roll out gigabit fibre broadband

An agreement between Fujitsu and CityFibre Holdings is set to bring gigabit fibre optic broadband networks to the UK's "second-tier cities".

The deal is thought to be worth an initial £50 million to Fujitsu, which will lend its knowledge of telecoms infrastructure and its network deployment credentials to the initiative.

It will be responsible for planning, building and operating the super-fast broadband networks.

Greg Mesch, chief executive of CityFibre, said the infrastructure will be delivered to more than 50,000 businesses and over one million households across the UK.

Fujitsu Telecommunications Europe chief executive Andy Stevenson added: "We are very happy to embark on this agreement with CityFibre.

"This project takes advantage of all Fujitsu's core competencies including planning, building and operating next-generation access networks."

The announcement comes two months after CityFibre secured a financing package for its metropolitan fibre optic broadband infrastructure from Citigroup.

An agreement was also secured that will involve Citi assisting CityFibre with its future financial requirements.