UK ISP Zen Internet Cuts 76Mbps Superfast Broadband Install Prices by 25%

Popular ISP Zen Internet has today cut the installation price on “all” of its home and businesses focused superfast broadband (FTTC) packages by 25%, which marks a reduction from the original cost of £80 +vat to £60 +vat (i.e. £72 when you include VAT).

The move is only the latest in a long chain of announcements from Zen, which last week announced that it would double the maximum speed of its existing “Fibre Optic” broadband services from the 9th May by offering download speeds of “up to 76Mbps” and upload speeds of “up to 19Mbps” (here); a small price reduction was also mentioned.

Andrew Saunders, Zen’s Head of Product Management and Marketing, said:

“To make it even easier for new customers to access Zen’s award-winning broadband and Fibre Optic Broadband services we are reducing the installation cost by 25%. We believe that we have the strongest portfolio of Fibre Optic Broadband products in the UK, having worked with BT since the initial fibre optic broadband trials. We have a hands-on experience of the technology that other providers cannot match, and the latest, most up-to-date information on progress and future plans.”

Zen has also cut the price of its Technicolor TG582N wireless router from £50 ex VAT to £35 ex VAT, which is roughly the same as its online retail price (e.g. £37.50 inc. VAT and delivery on Amazon or around £30 via eBay). The TG582N is delivered free of charge with automatic set-up configuration for Zen services and features both a wireless N capability and an integrated 4-port switch.

However it should be said that Zen’s packages, while of a generally higher quality than most, certainly aren’t the cheapest. Zen also kept their FTTC service installation prices high at a time when many other ISPs were able to make use of BTOpenreach’s “free installation” promotion.

The ISP further claims that its “12 month contract” is “the shortest fibre broadband contract available in the market“, which could be misread by some. In fact 12 months is the default contract length for all superfast FTTC based services on BTOpenreach’s infrastructure.