Startup fibre provider Lightning Broadband strikes biggest-ever deal

Startup fibre telco Lightning Broadband has landed its biggest deal to date to supply Melbourne’s new West End tower with fibre services.

The telco will install fibre-to-the-building (FTTB) connections to the 442-unit west Melbourne residential block. Residents will have a choice between 500Mbps and “business-grade” 1Gbps internet services, both with unlimited data.

Lightning Broadband will also install towers on the buildings to beam 5G fixed wireless services to customers in the surrounding areas.

West End marks Lightning Broadband’s biggest apartment project since 2016 inception. The company last week also finalised a deal to provide FTTB to the Palladium building in Melbourne’s South Bank, adding another 281 residences to its portfolio.

Lightning Broadband CEO Jeremy Rich told CRN that the West End deal was three years in the making, given the building’s developer’s rigorous assessment of the best internet technology to implement. According to Rich, the developers eventually opted to partner with Lightning Broadband after assessing it was the fastest internet available.

“Securing two such significant projects in less than a week has been a major accomplishment for us. Particularly in the case of West End – not just because it’s our biggest single project so far, but also that the agreement was three years in the making,” said Rich.

“It’s always very satisfying to complete projects we know can run rings around the NBN and provide building residents and tenants a stellar internet experience.”

Lightning Broadband focuses on installing FTTB connections to new buildings. The company boasts a presence in approximately 100 buildings, mostly in Melbourne, though interstate projects are underway in Sydney, Perth, Canberra and Adelaide.