The joint venture will use CityFibre’s existing metro fibre infrastructure to roll-out the new service, creating a network which is independent from BT’s Openreach infrastructure.
Once the network is in place, expected to be completed sometime next year,
Sky and TalkTalk say they’ll retail competing broadband services.
In a joint statement, the two firms said they intend to bring ultra-fast broadband to two further cities across the UK and will announce further details “in due course.”
Dido Harding, Chief Executive of TalkTalk Group, said: “We are excited to be working in partnership with Sky and CityFibre to build this new network that will offer significantly higher speeds at much better value than is currently available.
“This marks TalkTalk taking its first steps into investing in building infrastructure as part of our mission to make British homes and businesses better off.”
Sky’s Stephen van Rooyen, added: “Sky has led the growth of the sector since the launch of Sky Broadband, becoming the UK’s favourite provider of TV, broadband and home phone, and we see plenty of opportunity to continue to develop our offering.
“This trial will help us understand the potential for cutting-edge technology to help us give customers an even better quality of service and we’re looking forward to working in partnership with TalkTalk and CityFibre.”