Following lots of work behind the scenes we can confirm that the town rollout of High Speed Fibre will be delivered by Wildanet. The build is likely to be completed by the end of the first quarter of next year and then they just need to connect the business premises. Many of you will have seen the installation of the new cabinet located on the Burrows next to SIJS.

Meeting details

This is a very important meeting for businesses, we know many of you have struggled with insufficient resources, problems taking payments, and lots of you having to invest in very expensive solutions such as Starlink. A huge amount of work has gone into this but it’s a fabulous outcome for the businesses of St Ives and as a Town in general, we will no longer be lagging behind in a world where technology is so important. 

Breakfast Meeting 10th October 08:30-10:00 at Bayspace St Ives – Why is it so important to attend this meeting?

The work undertaken by BID and Wildanet  on this project means that this project to support the business community is planned to be delivered before Summer trading of next year rather than the back end of 25/start of 26. Up to now we have worked on the businesses behalf to make this happen but now we need your support during the delivery stages.

In attendance at this meeting will be:

• Helen Wild CEO of Wildanet
• Alistair – COO
• Dan Langworthy-Smith – Head of planning, construction & fibre delivery
• Aaron Jenkin Head of PIA Operations & Fibre delivery
• Andy Fisher – Regional build manager
• Lawrence Palk – B2B sales director
• James Bennett – Corporate Business Development Manager

You will be able to ask questions to the team directly about:

• Plans for town to deliver high speed fibre connectivity (residential was scheduled as part of the Government S20 agreement)
• Timescales
• How you can support Wildanet in its operations
• How it will improve your business services
• Benefits of high speed fibre
• Etc.

We must get as many people as possible to this meeting, we need the businesses to support their decision as they have worked so hard to make this happen for us as a town and business community, understanding our frustrations with our current infrastructure. It is unique to get this level of commitment from the CEO of Wildanet and the opportunity to speak to her in person is rare!

Benefits of High Speed Fibre

Here are some other benefits of high-speed fiber broadband: 

• Less interference: Fiber optic cables have less interference than other types of cables. 
• Higher frequency: Fiber optic cables operate at a higher frequency rate, which means greater bandwidth and faster connection speeds. 
• Symmetrical speeds: Fiber broadband offers symmetrical upload and download speeds. 
• Multiple device support: Fiber broadband can support multiple devices. 
• Enhanced security: Fiber broadband offers enhanced security. 
• No landline required: Fiber broadband can connect to the internet without a landline. 

Information about the project

Wildanet was awarded a £41 million contract in April 2024 to roll out new connections to more than 16,800 homes and businesses in East Cornwall, West Cornwall and the island of St Mary’s in the Isles of Scilly, following two contracts worth £36 million in 2023 to connect up to 19,250 homes and businesses in South West and Mid Cornwall. The rollout in St Ives included bringing services to the residential area of town but did not include our town centre due to the difficulty and cost of bringing services down the hill and into town.

Working in partnership with BID to understand the challenges

• Business community experiencing slow & unreliable broadband

• ADSL/FTTC Only

• Copper infrastructure failing on many occasions

• External infrastructure on buildings badly maintained

• No trust in BT as a supplier

• Seasonal periods – huge impact on footfall & usage of internet & mobile

• No Town WiFi Project impacting on issues

• Weak 3G & 4G Mobile coverage impacting on Internet Issues

Challenges

• Town Centre Embargo Town October -March
• Cobbled Streets
• Access to Legacy BTOR PIA
• Access to Buildings
• Timescales

Data Submitted

• EOI from St Ives BID submitted
• Business targeted with particular issues