The £2.5bn fibre to home investment programme announced today will sustain up to 5,000 construction jobs.

The scale of its plan means it will be awarding city and town-wide construction contracts across the country for several years to come.

It has identified 37 towns and cities where it already has critical fibre spine assets as primed for expansion for fibre-to-the-home.

The investment plan responds to the Government’s strategic direction for nationwide full fibre connectivity and its desire for this to be delivered by multiple providers.

With Vodafone as its first consumer ISP customer, CityFibre’s fibre-to-the-home builds are currently underway in Milton Keynes, Peterborough and Aberdeen, with construction due to start in Edinburgh, Stirling, Coventry and Huddersfield before the end of this year and Cambridge, Leeds and Southend-on-Sea shortly afterwards.

Jeremy Wright, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said: “The Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review set out our plans to maximise full fibre coverage.

“I’m delighted that CityFibre’s investment in 37 towns and cities across the UK will ensure the vast majority of homes and businesses in those areas can access this technology through new fibre networks.”

Greg Mesch, CEO of CityFibre said: “With a head-start in 37 towns and cities, this full fibre investment plan enables us to further accelerate our rollout, catalysing huge economic growth in regional towns and cities across the country and transforming the UK’s digital future.

“We now need to work together across Government, Ofcom and industry to create a level-playing field that continues to encourage investment from multiple network operators, so that full fibre can be delivered as quickly and effectively as possible.”