Sure has connected the first customers to the new fibre broadband network – Guernsey Fibre – as part of the pilot stage of its five-year roll out plan.
A trial of fibre broadband technology was tested in Guernsey in 2020 and after successful tests, a £37 million programme to rollout Fibre across every Guernsey property began to fully connect the first customers’ homes to the network.
Royston and Caroline Gallie are the first customers to be connected to the new fibre network in Guernsey. Engineers installed the latest technology into Mr and Mrs Gallie’s home in Victoria Avenue in early November after they signed up for the ‘Unlimited Essential’ Fibre plan.
Mr Gallie said the family have noticed an immediate improvement to their internet speed since the fibre was installed: “These faster speeds are great. My daughter’s reaction said it all, she came running down the stairs to tell us she had downloaded the new Bond film in 1 minute 12 seconds, compared to the 40 minutes it would have taken on our old connection.
“Our daughter used to get frustrated working from home in lockdown when all of us were on the internet at once. Now all four of us can be online at the same time to stream TV, download things and work from home.
“The installation process wasn’t intrusive or disruptive at all. The engineers were fantastic, explaining the technology and answering all our questions. The equipment is small, compact and fits neatly on the wall by a socket and is out of sight. I’d definitely recommend fibre to other people in Guernsey, it’s fantastic and is the island’s future.”
Tom Piprell (pictured), the Sure engineer who installed the fibre technology, said: “The installation process for Mr and Mrs Gallie went very well and we’re so pleased that they’re happy with their new faster internet speeds.
“Getting connected to Guernsey Fibre needs engineers to install new equipment – a small box on the outside of the house, enabling the external fibre to connect to the network point inside the home so it can connect to people’s router, which then spreads a WiFi signal through the property.”
Sure engineers are working around the island to install Guernsey Fibre, and customers will be contacted by their Internet Service Provider when they’re able to connect to the new service. The £37.5 million investment, £12.5 million of which is coming from the States of Guernsey, aims to connect all 30,000 properties in Guernsey with unmatched broadband speeds by the end of 2026.
