Three UK has entered into a £100 million infrastructure investment agreement with connectivity provider SSE Enterprise Telecoms to support the delivery of 5G to hundreds of towns and cities.
The investment will also boost Three UK’s 4G service, providing increased capacity and reliability.
In addition, as part of the second phase of the network rollout, SSE Enterprise Telecoms will deliver over 450 unbundled BT Exchanges across the UK. The associated fibre connectivity will be linked into Three UK’s network.
This will mean SSE Enterprise Telecoms’ fibre network, which currently stretches across 20,000 km, will reach over 30,000 km.
Susan Buttsworth, Chief Operating Officer, Three UK said: “We are investing significantly to transform our entire network experience which will support our customers who use three times more data than the average UK consumer. SSE Enterprise Telecoms will help support our goal of delivering a great 4G and 5G experience across the UK.”
Co-innovation
Sarah Mills, Sector Director for Network Operators, SSE Enterprise Telecoms, added: “This will allow Three UK to meet the future demands that we know are coming from businesses and consumers. Our continued close collaboration with Three UK has enabled both parties to focus on optimising the design and network for 4G and 5G services. Our next phase is our most pervasive yet.”
The announcement is part of a wider series of partnerships Three UK has entered with digital infrastructure platforms to help enable 5G and enhance Three UK’s existing 4G service.
David Molony, Principal Analyst, Omdia Principle Analyst, commented: “Omdia knows that co-innovation between service providers and enterprises – as well as between enterprises – will be one of the keys to success with 5G and edge computing. This deal is a prime example of the kind of co-investment needed for high capacity 5G infrastructure and goes some way to put the UK on the map”.
Earlier this month, Three extended its multi-million pound 5G backhaul contract with CityFibre.