Full Fibre in Hexham, Northumberland
During 2025, Bletchley Networks signed the Openreach PIA agreement, granting permission for us to use Openreach ducts and poles. As a trial, we set out to build a full-fibre network in Hexham, Northumberland, not far from Newcastle upon Tyne.
The primary focus of the network is serving business customers with leased lines. Separately, we also built a Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) to serve homes and small businesses with full-fibre broadband.
What is a GPON?
GPON, or Gigabit Passive Optical Network, is a fibre-optic access technology used by internet service providers to deliver high-speed broadband, voice and TV services. It works by sending data from a central device called an OLT (Optical Line Terminal) over a single fibre, which is then split passively to serve multiple customers.
At the customer's premises, an ONT (Optical Network Terminal) converts the optical signal into Ethernet and other usable services.
The key advantage of GPON is that it uses passive splitters in the distribution network, meaning no powered equipment is required between the provider and the customer. This makes the network more reliable, easier to maintain and cost-effective, while still providing gigabit-class connectivity over long distances.
Much of Hexham town centre did not have access to full-fibre broadband beforehand, so the project gave us a practical way to test our PIA build process while bringing additional connectivity options into the town.
The Hexham spine cable
The network includes a 96F cable, meaning there are 96 individual fibres within the cable, running from Hexham Telephone Exchange along Hencotes, Priestpopple, Battle Hill, Beaumont Street, Market Place, Hallstile Bank and Haugh Lane.
The cable is used to serve leased lines, and we have also made lower-cost GPON services available in Hexham town centre through our Up North Fibre brand.
Who can connect?
Properties within 50 metres of our spine cable are within scope for connection. We allocate £400 + VAT to cover the connection to a property. If an installation will exceed that amount, the customer can choose to pay the difference.
A successful PIA trial
Overall, we have deemed the Hexham PIA network project to be a great success. It is a clear example of how additional benefit can be brought to a community, and how additional revenue can be derived, by using the same infrastructure built to serve business premises.