First UK homes connected to Fujitsu fibre broadband network

The first homes in the UK have been connected to Fujitsu's new fibre optic broadband network.

Residents in Greasby on the Wirral Peninsula are taking part in a six-month trial of the infrastructure, which is being used by TalkTalk and Virgin Media to offer wholesale broadband products.

Volunteers involved in the pilot scheme will be connected to fibre-to-the-home broadband with speeds of up to 100Mbps, while Virgin will also use the network to deliver its TiVo-powered cable TV service.

The trial seeks to assess whether Fujitsu can use BT's infrastructure in a live setting.

Jon James, executive director of broadband at Virgin Media, said: "This is an exciting opportunity to ... test a network capable of the speeds we can deliver in towns and cities on our own cable network."

TalkTalk chief executive Dido Hardy has previously stated Fujitsu's infrastructure will allow the company to extend its super-fast broadband footprint and compliment its fibre-to-the-cabinet strategy.