Broadband
Islington Broadband is a partnership between the council and full fibre broadband providers to offer faster, more reliable internet services across housing estates and council managed street properties, alongside a range of other community benefits. The council has signed legal agreements with three broadband providers to install, keep and maintain their fibre broadband equipment on all housing land and buildings owned by the council’s housing department.
About full fibre broadband
Full fibre is the fastest and most reliable type of broadband available. It uses fibre optic cables that run directly into homes or buildings, rather than the old-style copper wiring used in standard internet services. It allows households to use multiple internet services and different devices at the same time and increases broadband speeds significantly.
When full fibre broadband will be available
Connections are being installed on an estate-by-estate basis and include council managed street properties. Cabling commenced in January 2023 and the aim is to deliver a full fibre connection to at least 90% of council homes within three years.
Providers submit their requests to survey our estates and buildings to our delivery team who review and agree the proposal and then we work with the providers to agree the installation designs. Providers will engage with local tenant representatives and Tenant Management Organisations, as part of the rollout process.
As we have three agreements in place this means that more than one provider may request to install their own equipment on your building. See the Facilitation framework for Islington Broadband section for more information.
The providers are required to notify our residents when the programme reaches their estates and street and, once a building is connected, the providers advertise their broadband services to residents and you can choose whether or not to take up the offers available. Some providers offer discounted or special offers for households on low incomes. The providers should have a resident liaison contact who is available through the duration of the installation works – the contact details will appear on the communication materials circulated prior to the installations commencing.
To find out if one of the broadband providers is able to connect your property, please use the searchable database found on their website.
Cost to tenants and choice of service
There is no installation cost to tenants and leaseholders as this is being delivered at no cost to the council. Once installed and the network is live in your area you can choose to take up a new full fibre internet service for a monthly fee, but there is no obligation to do this. If there are multiple providers you will have a choice of which service you want to subscribe to. Ongoing maintenance costs are the responsibility of the provider that owns the equipment.
Council street properties
Our agreements allow our partnership providers to access and install their equipment in all our council homes. If you live in a street property, you can find out if you are able to connect to fibre broadband services by visiting the providers’ websites shown at the links above where you can also register your interest in receiving services.
Community benefits
Our community centres are also included in the programme and many will receive free connections to the full-fibre services offered by the providers for several years or in perpetuity. The length of time these connections are available will depend on which provider is installing their infrastructure in each location.
More information
If you have any questions, please contact IslingtonBroadband@islington.gov.uk.
Will full fibre broadband be available for all council homes?
Will the installation cause disruption for residents?
Broadband installations are usually relatively straightforward and don’t involve major work, but there will be some short-term visible works on estates. Installing it typically involves running cabling up or down the outside of a building, which may require abseiling or the use of equipment for working at heights, or sometimes installing cabling through the communal parts of a building. Our technical services are working alongside the providers to coordinate the programme and try to make it run as smoothly as possible.
On occasion, the installations will involve ground works to connect the estate infrastructure to the provider’s local network.
The broadband providers won’t need to go in your home, unless you decide to take up the new full fibre services from them.
The broadband providers will let you know when installations are taking place and take steps to keep disruption to a minimum and you will be notified in advance of any works coming to your estate.
Will this affect my existing internet?
This will not affect your existing internet services. You will have the option to remain with your existing provider or choose from any of the new full fibre services available in your building. No, this will not affect your existing internet services. You will have the option to remain with your existing provider or choose from any of the new full fibre services available in your building.
What is the council's role in this project?
Islington Broadband is being delivered at no cost to the council. Full fibre installations on all estates are fully funded and managed by the providers. The council, as a landlord, has given permission by signing non-exclusive wayleave (contract) agreements with the providers to install their equipment and enable residents to subscribe to their services.
We are not able to sign wayleaves for individual properties as we want to make services consistent across our housing stock and get the best deal for residents.
Our delivery team is working closely with the providers to make sure work is completed to a high standard and in accordance with best practice, is safe and compliant with all regulations and causes minimum disruption to our residents. The team are coordinating the programme with our technical departments to ensure that our health and safety requirements are met, including in relation to fire safety and asbestos.
Facilitation framework for Islington Broadband
The Code specifically prevents any landowner, including Islington Council from restricting access to land or property to install electronic communications equipment, where a Code registered provider can demonstrate that it is increasing choice or improving connectivity for residents or businesses.
The (wayleave) agreement with each provider is consistent with the approach of other local authorities across London. The agreement sets out a set of health and safety and design requirements which we expect the providers to adhere to and we are working in partnership with each provider to deliver the programme within this agreement. The council is however constrained by the Code and by the business and technical model of each provider.