UPD New Crindledyke Farm Homes in Cumbria to Get 1Gb Fibre Broadband

A development of 850 new 3-4 bedroom homes near the M6 and Carlisle city centre in Cumbria (England) – Crindledyke Farm – looks set to receive a huge boost after local ISP Solway Communications and Triple Connect began rolling out a new dedicated 1000Mbps capable fibre optic connection to premises in the area.

Solway has traditionally preferred to use fibre optic lines as a feed for their Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) products but the new development will adopt a more Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH/P) approach, with the fibre optic cable being directly connected into each property.

The local area is arguably more use to Internet download speeds of around 7Mbps via BT’s ADSL/ADSL2+ based copper broadband network and thus the new service should come as quite an improvement.

Nick Kittoe, MD of Solway Communications, said:

“The service we’re offering the residents of Crindledyke is the highest quality and speed, much faster than any other mid market housing development in the UK. The only competition we are aware of is a small number of some exclusive developments in London, with multi million pound price tags, way above the budget of the average family or small business.”

Precise details of the scheme, such as how much it will cost and how long it will take to roll-out, are hard to come by but it’s always significantly cheaper to deploy true fibre optic connectivity if you can get the cables into the ground either before or during the development of new homes and estates.

Louise McGuckin, Head of Sales for Story Homes (Developer), said:

“This is the first time that we have been able to offer such a service on any of our developments and feedback from customers has been extremely positive. Residents downloading or streaming content receive a much better speed than anywhere else, so for them, the service is a real benefit, making it an additional selling point for our homes.”

Customers hoping to adopt the service should look at Triple Connect’s website to see what’s available. The site makes mention of various phone, broadband and even a TV product. The service itself is currently aimed at new housing developments around the UK, with a focus on the Isle of Wight and in Cumbria, and it already claims to reach over 5,000 homes nationally.

Price wise and there are a variety of different packages and bundle combinations to choose from. The cheapest 30Mbps Fibre package starts at £27.50 inc. VAT per month if you also take line rental (includes Evening & Weekend calls) or £32.50 standalone (a setup fee of £150 applies).

Meanwhile customers who want the top 1000Mbps speeds will need to spend £85 per month when taken with line rental but oddly this skyrockets to £200 as a standalone broadband link, which doesn’t make much sense. A Fair Usage Policy (FUP) also exists on the broadband packages and targets P2P traffic, although it’s somewhat vague.

A variety of TV options exist and they can be enhanced to include all of the usual channels and even Sky Movies content etc. But one thing that Triple Connect does appear to miss is a legally required postal address on their website (we couldn’t find one).

UPDATE 10:56am

Triple Connect has told ISPreview.co.uk that the standalone price of their 1000Mbps package has been dropped from £200 to the more respectable level of £100 and that their address is now mentioned more clearly. A pleasantly effective response.