A London broadband company that builds its own full fibre network across most of the capital, with a focus on social housing, free connections for community spaces and a Digital Ambassador programme.
Community Fibre is a London broadband provider that builds, owns and operates its own full fibre network. Its careers page describes it as a community-focused London company, and says its network reaches more than 1.35 million homes and over 200,000 businesses across 32 London boroughs. These are the company's own figures from that page; an older article put the footprint at 29 boroughs, which shows how fast it has been growing. Unlike many providers, it does not rely on Openreach or other firms' cables, and its network is fibre only rather than fibre joined to copper.
A 2018 industry article describes the company as entering the UK market in 2013 as part of a new wave of alternative network providers, with a first focus on social housing estates, starting with a partnership with Westminster City Council. That article names Jeremy Chelot as chief executive and notes that he grew up in social housing and wanted to improve access to faster, cheaper internet for residents. A later company profile names Tim Stranack as a co-founder, and Graeme Oxby as chief executive. Mr Oxby's stated priority on the careers page is "Closing the digital divide". The company's values there are "Caring. Open. Responsible. Effective."
Community Fibre's work is centred on London, where it describes itself as London's best broadband provider (its own claim). Its careers page lists Cranleigh as a location, and we found no London office address, so the exact place where London staff are based is not confirmed. The company has also announced a wholesale agreement with VodafoneThree and a mobile eSIM offering, according to its press pages, which suggests it is moving beyond broadband alone. Many of the people it employs work out in the streets and buildings of London, installing and maintaining the fibre.
On community work, the Digital Ambassador Programme trains local people to help residents with everyday skills such as online banking and basic internet security, and the Community Connect Programme provides free gigabit broadband to community centres. A 2023 profile counted around 300 centres; the careers page now says 600 community spaces have been connected. The profile also describes a Green Team, a move to an electric van fleet, and an emphasis on environmental, social and governance goals. The careers page says it has employee-led communities supporting diversity, inclusion and wellbeing, and benefits including 25 days' holiday, pension matching and a cycle-to-work scheme.
Roles listed on the careers page when we looked included marketing and product managers, commercial executives, network operations field service engineers and door-to-door field sales executives, so the company needs engineers, salespeople and office-based specialists alike. If you like London, enjoy talking to people, or like fixing and building things, there are several routes. Useful subjects include business, marketing, engineering, computing and communication.
Website: communityfibre.co.uk
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