POOLE and Christchurch are to join Bournemouth in getting extra-fast full fibre broadband.

CityFibre, which is already at work connecting gigabit broadband homes in the former Bournemouth council area, says the rest of the conurbation will follow.

It revealed 36 more towns and cities which are set to benefit from its £4billion Gigabit City programme, targeting eight million premises.

Precise timescales have not been revealed, but CityFibre says construction will begin on almost all its latest areas by the end of this year.

Lucy Cooper, CityFibre’s city manager for the Bournemouth area, said: “It gives me great pleasure to be able to start planning our expansion into Poole and Christchurch, aligning us with the council’s newly merged footprint.

“The construction of our full fibre network will help support the local area in many ways, from creating long term employment, to providing world-class digital infrastructure to businesses and residents, in addition to the environmental benefits that come with better connections over a passive full fibre network.

“Our Gigabit City Investment Programme expansion of 36 additional locations is evidence of the commitment CityFibre has made to the region, as well as the rest of the UK.”

CityFibre, which has already said its Bournemouth project will generate at least 1,000 jobs, says it will be awarding construction contracts worth more £1.5bn. Its partners will be chosen by July.

Larger cities included on CityFibre’s new list include Glasgow, Nottingham and Wolverhampton.

Full fibre broadband promises much faster download and upload times and CityFibre says it will support the needs of hones, businesses, public services and mobile networks for generations.

Culture secretary Oliver Dowden said: “We want to make sure every corner of the country benefits from world-class, gigabit speed broadband, so it is great to see CityFibre expanding out into 36 more towns and cities.

“We are working closely with industry to push ahead with nationwide rollout and investing £5bn so the hardest-to-reach areas aren’t left behind.”

CityFibre, which describes itself as the UK’s third national digital infrastructure platform, has said TalkTalk is joining its network to market to both consumers and businesses, while mobile operator Three will use the network to support its rollout of 5G.

Greg Mesch, chief executive of CityFibre, said: “Britain’s need for a world-class digital infrastructure has never been greater which is why we stand firmly behind the government’s plan for nationwide coverage by 2025.

“Full fibre will play a critical role in levelling-up the UK and so today we are accelerating our plans, bringing full fibre to more towns and cities, even faster.”