EE and BT UK Start Inviting Customers to Openreach XGS-PON Broadband Trial
ISPreview have spotted that mobile operator and broadband ISP EE (BT) has started sending out invites to those on their trials scheme who wish to help test Openreach’s new XGS-PON powered Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) lines, which for consumer services are capable of offering download speeds up to 8.5Gbps (850Mbps upload).
The news that EE plans to test the new network won’t come as much of a surprise because they confirmed as much back in December 2025 (here). Openreach has also previously informed ISPreview that their pilot would initially begin across an area of 40,000 premises in Guildford, although this seems likely to be expanded, and we’ve noted that the pilot may also catch some premises in neighbouring Woking.
Openreach currently plans to kick off the new XGS-PON broadband pilot from 23rd March 2026 (details). Anybody taking part will require another engineer visit to install one of the operator’s latest 10Gbps capable Optical Network Terminals (ONT) inside your home.
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According to EE’s new trial invite, customers who agree to take part will “receive a free broadband trial line for 3 months, plus an Amazon.co.uk voucher when you complete the trial” (EE says they’ll either install this as an upgrade to your existing line or as a temporary new line). Existing BT or EE broadband customers will also receive a credit towards their existing account for the duration of the trial.
At this stage, it’s unclear whether everybody who takes part will receive the top 8.5Gbps tier or one of their slower tiers, although EE did previously mention the 8.5Gbps top speed when first announcing their plans. EE is currently still the only ISP to confirm their participation, and it may take time for others to fully adapt to the new capacity requirements of such a service.
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads.net and Linkedin.
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