New agreement helps Trooli take pole position

Full fibre ISP Trooli has become one of the first alternative network operators to sign a long-term Joint User Pole (JUP) agreement with UK Power Networks.

The agreement gives the Kent-based company access to the low voltage overhead pole network across UK Power Networks’ East and South East England operating areas, enabling Trooli to reach thousands more premises in its network areas.

Trooli, which recently secured £67.5m in funding to support the rollout of its Gigabit-capable network, plans to be available to 170,000 properties by the end of 2021 (up from 100,000 currently), rising to 400,000 in 2022 and one million in 2024.

The agreement follows six months of discussions between Trooli and UK Power Networks and comes in the wake of successful live trials in Kent.

Operations Director Brian O’Neill said: “With this JUP agreement, we can access an extra 4,000 premises in our existing areas that were previously out of our reach. This additional volume will only expand as our network increases in size.”

The company, which has a growing customer base in Kent, East Sussex and Berkshire, has just launched in East Anglia where its network will start going live from the autumn.

Trooli has recently secured a £67.5m investment from a consortium of commercial lenders. It previously received €30m in backing from the Connecting Europe Broadband Fund (CEBF) and £5m from NatWest.