Draft:Grain Connect
| Submission declined on 10 April 2025 by JBW (talk). Wikipedia is not a medium for marketing, promotion, or advertising.
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| Submission declined on 19 October 2024 by CFA (talk). This draft's references do not show that the subject qualifies for a Wikipedia article. In summary, the draft needs multiple published sources that are:
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Comment: Routine announcements do not count towards notability per WP:ORGTRIV. C F A 💬 22:18, 19 October 2024 (UTC)
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry |
|
| Founded | July 19, 2016 in Carlisle, UK |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | United Kingdom |
Key people | Sean Williams, Director. Richard Cameron, CEO. |
| Products | |
| Website | www |
Grain Connect Ltd is a British telecommunications company and alternative network provider (altnet) offering full fibre broadband and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services. Founded in 2016, the company is headquartered in Carlisle, England, and operates its own Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network across urban centres and new-build developments in the United Kingdom.
History
[edit]Company names
[edit]- FIBRE UN LIMITED (19 July 2016 – 12 January 2017)
- GRAIN CONNECT LIMITED (12 January 2017 – Present)
Grain Connect's origins trace back to 2013, when telecommunications company Solway Communications trialled a full fibre broadband service at Story Homes' Crindledyke development in Carlisle, England.[1]
The company was incorporated on 19 July 2016 as FIBRE UN LIMITED, a joint venture between Solway Communications and Pinnacle Group.[2] It was later renamed Grain Connect Limited in January 2017.
Grain Connect was established during a time of increasing demand for gigabit-capable broadband services. In 2016, the average UK download speed was approximately 15 Mbps, placing the UK 20th globally for broadband speeds.[3]
The company’s first new-build development project was launched in Countesswells, Aberdeen in 2017.[4]
In 2019, Grain secured a £10 million investment from Albion Capital.[5] In 2020, it began expanding into urban areas, starting with Carlisle.
Following a year-long trial, the company expanded its urban rollout to 12 locations including Carlisle, Barrow, Blackburn, Accrington, Scarborough, Leicester, Grimsby, Hartlepool, Bradford, Oldham, Manchester, and Newcastle.[6] In 2021, Grain received a further £75 million investment from Equitix.[7]
By 2022, the company had connected 100 new-build developments[8] and secured a £40 million funding facility from Nord Bank to support further expansion.[9]
Network
[edit]Grain Connect operates a Point-to-Point (PTP), Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network. As of Q2 2024, the company reported over 30,000 connected customers.[10]
Services
[edit]Residential broadband
[edit]Grain Connect provides broadband services to residential, business, and landlord customers via its own FTTP infrastructure.
Business broadband
[edit]The company also offers services to small businesses and landlords. For larger organisations, such as those located in business parks, Grain provides Dedicated Internet Access (DIA), offering a dedicated internet connection similar to a leased line.
Coverage
[edit]Urban areas
[edit]As of 2024, Grain Connect operates in the following UK urban locations:[11]
Accrington, Barrow, Birmingham, Blackburn, Blackpool, Blyth, Bolton, Bradford, Brighton, Burnley, Cambridge, Cardiff, Carlisle, Castleford, Cleethorpes, Durham, Gateshead, Gillingham, Grimsby, Halifax, Hartlepool, Hull, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Luton, Manchester, Middlesbrough, Newcastle, Newport, Nottingham, North Shields, Oldham, Preston, Reading, Scarborough, Seaham, South Shields, St Helens, Sunderland, Thornaby, Tonypandy, Tynemouth, Wallsend, Warrington, Watford, Whitley Bay, Widnes, and Wolverhampton.
New-build developments
[edit]Grain Connect also supplies broadband to new-build developments in areas such as:[12]
Aberdeen, Alnwick, Auchterarder, Aylesbury, Bedworth, Bicester, Birkenhead, Birmingham, Blackburn, Bolton, Brampton, Brighouse, Bristol, Broxburn, Buxton, Calne, Cambridge, Carlisle, Chesterfield, Chippenham, Chorley, Cirencester, Cockermouth, Colchester, Croydon, Cumbria, Darlington, Dumfries, Durham, Dursley, East Kilbride, Edinburgh, Ellesmere Port, Falkirk, Forest Town, Glasgow, Gloucester, Haverhill, Highbridge, Kendal, Kilmarnock, Lancaster, Leeds, Leicester, Littlehampton, London, Longniddry, Lower Stondon, Lowton, Lutterworth, Manchester, Melton Mowbray, Nelson, North Shields, Northampton, Nottingham, Oxford, Paisley, Penrith, Perth, Preston, Prestonpans, Reading, Seaford, Shefford, Shotts, St Andrews, Stockton-on-Tees, Stoke-on-Trent, Swindon, Telford, Thirsk, Tranent, Ulverston, Wadebridge, Walsall, Warrington, West Malling, Weston-Super-Mare, Whitchurch, Whitley Bay, Wigan, Worcester, Workington, Worksop, Yarm, and York.
Operations
[edit]Grain Connect is headquartered in Carlisle, Cumbria. In November 2021, the company moved to a larger office in the Kingstown area of Carlisle to accommodate increased staffing.
Corporate affairs
[edit]Senior management
[edit]Sean Williams was appointed as a company director in February 2019.[13] Richard Cameron became Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in April 2021.[14]
Controversies
[edit]In 2023, Grain Connect announced it would continue its policy of not installing telegraph poles as part of its broadband network roll-out. This announcement followed increased public opposition in areas such as Kingston upon Hull.[15] Telegraph pole installations under permitted development rights have drawn criticism from some residents. Government Minister Chris Bryant later suggested possible regulatory or legislative changes to ensure that community input is considered during future infrastructure deployments.[16]
In late March 2025 two organisations that represent internet providers - INCA and ISPA - launched a best practice guide for installation of telegraph poles for ISPs that use them as part of their fibre roll out. The guidance was welcomed by Grain CEO Richard Cameron but he noted that in Grain’s view “it did not go far enough” to help prevent the nuisance and blight that many people feel these telegraph poles are creating in their communities.
See also
[edit]- Fibre-to-the-Premises
- Broadband in the United Kingdom
- List of broadband providers in the United Kingdom
External links
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ https://www.storyhomes.co.uk/news/new-homes-at-crindledyke-farm-get-fastest-uk-broadband/
- ^ https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/10286971
- ^ https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2016/12/average-uk-internet-speeds-hit-15mbps-world-rank-falls-20th.html
- ^ https://www.scottishfinancialnews.com/articles/private-sector-investment-brings-uks-fastest-broadband-to-aberdeen
- ^ https://www.pinnaclegroup.co.uk/news/grain-connect-moves-to-the-next-level-for-uk-full-fibre-broadband-installation-programme/
- ^ https://www.nwemail.co.uk/news/18819891.barrow-among-first-benefit-grain-connect-broadband-investment/
- ^ https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2021/08/grain-prep-gbp175m-plan-for-large-uk-fttp-broadband-rollout.html
- ^ https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252508270/Grain-expands-fibre-network-as-CityFibre-hits-gigabit-roll-out-accelerator
- ^ https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2023/03/huge-130m-boost-for-grains-uk-fttp-broadband-rollout.html
- ^ https://fibrenews.co.uk/grain-reaches-30000-connected-customers/
- ^ https://labs.thinkbroadband.com/local/index.php
- ^ https://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/9694-coverage-analysis-of-uk-gigabit-broadband-at-end-of-2023
- ^ https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/WevcmnpDzMVXt-MvBuHRDI9BB-Y/appointments
- ^ https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/mi6YBQmKEDpQvJMmIEm6w1pEb2k/appointments
- ^ https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hull-east-yorkshire-news/new-broadband-poles-hull-east-8574325
- ^ https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/29/uk_minister_tells_telcos_share_poles/