Kijoma Expands Superfast Wireless Broadband Network into Staffordshire UK

Fixed Broadband Wireless ISP Kijoma, which covers parts of West Sussex, Hampshire and Derbyshire in England (among other areas), has expanded its network to cover the rural civil parish village of Tatenhill near Burton-upon-Trent in East Staffordshire. Grants are being offered to help connect homes, which is despite some initial funding woes.

The new service, which currently reaches the areas of Tatenhill, Rangemore, Callingwood and part of Branston / Needwood, is understood to replace the former wifi mesh network that was originally owned by Qicomm / Access Broadband before Kijoma took them over in 2010.

So far all customers whom have had the service installed claim to be receiving internet download speeds of above 40Mbps (Megabits per second).

Bill Lewis, Managing Director of Kijoma, told ISPreview.co.uk:

“This is a Super Fast network providing 40 Mbps actual speeds to end customers with a choice of upload speeds according to tariff (with 20 Mbps as the top upload speed). Latency on the network is typically under 6ms [milliseconds] from customer to our core server, ensuring VPN’s, real time gaming and VoIP are trouble free.

We advertise as “up to” as there is no guarantee that any internet resource accessed by our customers can or will let them download at that speed. We also comply with the recent ASA ruling and provide an estimate before installation and a measured speed at installation. The achievable speed is then recorded on the customers web control panel and profile.

However ALL customers installed so far exceed the full 40 Mbps capability when tested at installation.”

It should be stressed that Kijoma’s Staffordshire service adopts a different tariff (package) structure from the rest of their network, which are outlined here – www.tatenhill.net. Prices start at £13.99 inc. VAT for a 40Mbps service with 2Mbps upload speeds and a basic 5GB usage allowance (12 month contract). As usual bigger usage allowances and faster upload speeds are available at extra cost.

According to Mr Lewis, installation costs for the initial orders within Tatenhill Parish were apparently £80 but this has since risen to £140 due to the Parish Community groups withdrawal of infrastructure funding (apparently the Parish Community group had originally promised to contribute £6,000).

Thankfully Lewis informed ISPreview.co.uk that the Parish Council of Tatenhill are offering a £60 grant (this is provided by the borough, county councils and Rangemore Estates) towards the installation of the service for properties within the Parish, which brings the one-off installation cost down to £80.

None of this appears to have dampened Kijoma’s ambition to expand its network, with further coverage due to be installed in certain neighbouring areas during September 2012 (i.e. within 10 miles of Burton-on-Trent). Precise plans will depend upon which local towns and villages register enough demand with the ISP.