North East Somerset ISP TrueSpeed Bring 100Mb FTTP Network to Priston

TrueSpeed Communications (formerly Wansdyke Telecom), which earlier this year pledged to roll-out a new 1Gbps capable pure fibre optic (FTTP) broadband network to parts of rural North East Somerset and possibly Wiltshire, has announced that Priston will be the first village to benefit.

The project, which use to be known as Wansdyke Telecom before it was apparently sold to the new TrueSpeed entity in April 2015 (here), is being supplied with capacity via the new Hibernia Express submarine cable network that recently connected North America to London (here).

But the big news is of course that TrueSpeed has begun the deployment phase and the first area to benefit will be the small civil parish village of Priston, which is home to a little over 230 people in 80+ premises. Apparently half of the village have agreed to receive the service and are now “under contract“.

Local customers will thus soon gain access to a true fibre optic network, with home packages starting at 100Mbps (symmetrical) for £47.50 per month (strangely this is said to include a “phone line“) and a home based business product offering that runs at 150Mbps. Faster services are possible.

Evan Wienburg, TrueSpeed’s CEO, said:

“The current marketplace is swamped with broadband deals over the existing copper network, where speeds will always drop the further your house is from the nearest cabinet. In reality this means everyone gets a different service. TrueSpeed’s fibre delivers the same service to all our customers. Then, as the requirement for greater speeds becomes a necessity, we can deliver even faster speeds instantly without the need for further investment, building work or disruption. Only a pure fibre optic network will be able to deliver the future we’re all heading towards.

We’re delighted with the fantastic response we’ve received in Priston. It took no time at all to generate significant interest and to get half the village under contract. This is phenomenal and proves the demand for TrueSpeed’s services is strong and that our products are correctly priced.

Connecting Priston to UltraFast Fibre is very exciting and I want everyone to know that TrueSpeed is ready to deliver fantastic services to the towns and villages in this region. We know the demand is there; Chew Valley, you’re next!“

Interestingly some of TrueSpeed’s target coverage area can already access an upgraded broadband connection using BT’s Fibre-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC VDSL2) network, although that doesn’t appear to bother them because the service struggles to deliver “superfast” speeds to many locals.

Unfortunately what the press release doesn’t clarify is precisely when the new network is expected to go live and how much it is costing to deploy, as well as where the investment is all coming from.

In terms of coverage, TrueSpeed are initially deploying to areas that demonstrate the strongest demand (rollout map). The early roll-out looks like it could potentially include communities and towns from Bath itself through to Corston, Newton St Loe, Compton Dando, Woollard, Publow, Pensford, Belluton, Stanton Drew, Stanton Wick, Chew Magna and Chew Stoke.