Lightning Fibre, the full fibre broadband network operator and internet service provider (ISP) based in East Sussex, has won consumer awards for the third year in succession from the national ISP Association.

In 2023 the firm won top prize as Best Consumer ISP for under 50,000 customers; in 2024 and again this year, having multiplied their customer base, they came top for under 100,000 customers.

They also scooped a separate Best Customer Experience Award this time.

The judging process considered overall service levels, packages, performance, customer satisfaction, value, fair pricing and support for vulnerable customers.

Rob Reaks, Chief Commercial Officer at Lightning Fibre, said: “Winning the Best Consumer ISP three years in a row is an incredible validation of our entire company’s dedication to our customers. We are passionate about delivering not just the fastest, most reliable full fibre broadband, but also a truly exceptional customer experience.”

Lightning Fibre is an active member of the Hastings Chamber of Commerce, headline sponsor of both Hastings Comedy Festival and of Hastings Pirate Day, and delivers full fibre broadband across Hastings and St Leonards. 

Highlights included Lightning Fibre’s commitment to net zero emissions, and their wide range of community and charity sponsorships in Hastings, Hailsham, Heathfield and Eastbourne. 

Last year, Hastings and St Leonards enjoyed a Follow That Duck art trail during the summer months, raising over £76,000 for St Michael’s Hospice, in part thanks to Lightning Fibre’s financial support. They also sponsored Hastings’ Pirate Day and St Leonards Frost Fayre.

Community engagement is not all about fun events, though: when West Hill residents petitioned Lightning Fibre about a large internet box overlooking the sea and Hastings Castle, they were initially told it was approved by Hastings Council and would remain. The company then had a change of heart and relocated the box to Collier Road.

Keith Leech, who lives nearby, said: “It’s good to see people power still works… Thank you to Lightning Fibre for listening to local people.”

Find out more: lightningfibre.co.uk”

Lightning Fibre, Lightning fast! The local AltNet for the South Coast, Lightning Fibre Broadband, roared into Bexhill with a Formula One Grand Prix winner, to announce its network expansion and celebrate 120 years since the birth of British motor racing, formally recognised by the RAC as taking place in Bexhill-on-Sea in May 1902. 

Lightning Fibre founder and CEO, Ben Ferriman, and Network Director Paul Thornton were pictured with Nelson Piquet’s 1990 Grand Prix-winning F1 Benetton, along with The Vice Chairman of Rother District Council, Councillor Kathy Harmer and The Worshipful the Mayor of Bexhill, Councillor Paul Plim. 

Cllr Harmer, commented on the news: “Better broadband is vital for residents and businesses in Bexhill and across the district. This investment, and the creation of local jobs, is a real boost to regeneration efforts and the council whole-heartedly supports this announcement.”

The 1990 Benetton was chosen in a nod to the birth year of the World Wide Web, when Tim Berners-Lee and his colleagues at CERN developed hypertext markup language (HTML) and the uniform resource locator (URL), giving birth to the first incarnation of the World Wide Web.

Ben Ferriman, Lightning Fibre Founder and CEO, added: “It was always my intention to include Bexhill in our network expansion – connecting our Eastbourne and Hastings infrastructure to bring full fibre symmetric future-proofed hyper fast broadband to Bexhill. Bringing the world’s fastest car with us to celebrate the arrival of the world’s fastest broadband is the perfect way to launch our network in Bexhill. We pride ourselves on being the only locally-founded full fibre network headquartered in, and focused on, East Sussex.”

95% of Lightning Fibre employees come from East Sussex, and the install and customer care teams are based in Polegate. The company charges highly competitive prices, to suit all requirements, and local residents are encouraged to register online at www.lightningfibre.co.uk for more information. As the network is symmetric, unlike many other network providers, consumers enjoy guaranteed upload and download speeds of at least 100Mbps at the modem. The network supports 10,000Mbps, making it completely future-proofed for decades to come. 

The company will announce further expansion soon, with 100 more local jobs being created now to support that future growth. 

A little motor racing history

The 1990 Australian Formula One Grand Prix was held at Adelaide in November 1990 and won by Brazilian driver Nelson Piquet, driving a Benetton-Ford. The car is now owned by John Reaks, who runs it on famous racing circuits around the world, including Brands Hatch, Oulton Park, Bath Spa – Belgium and Suzuka – Japan. 

Intensive research proves Bexhill was one of the first places in Great Britain to hold a motor race meeting, just after the turn of the 20th century. It happened along Bexhill seafront during the 1902 May Bank Holiday on a private road owned by Earl De la Warr. Those present included John Montague MP, father of the present Lord Montague of Beaulieu – home of the famous motor museum. 

Lightning Fibre was founded in 2018 with the aims of ‘building a truly future proofed cutting-edge full fibre network and providing a quality service with the added bonus of doing so with a community-centric approach.’ Works commenced in Eastbourne in early 2020 and the long awaited Hastings rollout is now under way. 

Ben Ferriman, Lightning Fibre CEO, commented, “I live in Eastbourne and the poor connectivity really frustrated me, knowing Hastings also struggled I decided to level up both towns by building our own dedicated fibre optic network to give our communities the connectivity they deserve. Lightning Fibre is building high quality networks across East Sussex, creating quality local jobs and delivering a high-quality service at an affordable and competitive price for our customers.”

Initially, the full fibre upgrade will cover TN34, 35, 37 and 38; with additional, surrounding areas under consideration. Further announcements of local roll outs are expected from the company in the coming months. 

Research shows that once an area has a full fibre 1Gbps network, property prices and local economies are positively impacted. Lightning Fibre’s infrastructure upgrade will make the town even more appealing to people and businesses looking to relocate. 

Cllr Colin Fitzgerald, deputy leader of Hastings Borough Council, said “This is tremendous news for Hastings, our residents and businesses. We have campaigned for years to improve our connectivity, both physical and virtual, and it is great to see that we are about to benefit from hyperfast broadband. The pandemic of the last year has meant many of us have had to work from home, and this kind of broadband will help both local residents and businesses, and those looking to relocate here. And it’s great to see that so many of the people employed on the project are locally based”.

Full fibre optic networks are not just the fastest, they are also the greenest – a full fibre network creates 88% less greenhouse gas per 1Gb compared to other broadband technologies. 

This community-centric company also sponsors local community grassroots football teams, supports local good causes and is a proud and active member of the Hastings Chamber of Commerce, helping to connect local businesses and help each other thrive. 

• To find out more about Lightning Fibre, visit their website.
www.lightningfibre.co.uk/about