FIBREWiFi Unveil New Superfast Wireless Broadband Packages for Essex
Chelmsford-based fixed wireless access provider FIBREWiFi (Buzcom) has revealed that they’re launching a range of new superfast broadband packages, which will offer symmetric Internet speeds of up to 100Mbps for businesses and homes in Essex (East of England).
The ISP, which predominantly covers Chelmsford and a large part of the surrounding areas in Essex, currently promotes two symmetric 12.5Mbps and 25Mbps packages (both with a 40GB usage allowance) for £12.25 inc. VAT (plus £124 one-off setup) and £32.25 (plus £194 one-off setup) per month respectively.
But new customers are now being offered a choice of four revamped packages, with the top options seemingly being designed to meet the EU’s expectations for “super-fast” (30Mbps+) connectivity.
SUPER
12.5Mbps Symmetrical
60GB Usage Allowance
40-1 Contention RatioPRICE: £12 inc. VAT per month
ULTRA
15Mbps Symmetrical
90GB Usage Allowance
20-1 Contention RatioPRICE: £24 inc. VAT per month
PREMIER
30Mbps Symmetrical
150GB Usage Allowance
10-1 Contention RatioPRICE: £60 inc. VAT per month
BUSINESS
2-100Mbps Symmetrical
Totally Unlimited Usage
1-1 Contention RatioPRICE: from £145 +vat per month
For those less familiar with some of the terminology here, a symmetrical speed means that if you took their 12.5Mbps package then you’d get the same performance for both downloads and uploads. Meanwhile contention ratios are usually a rough reflection of how many users will share a single capacity supply. But at the time of writing these offers are not yet being promoted on the ISPs website, which means that we can’t see how the setup fee or any other charges have changed.
It’s worth pointing out that the state aid supported £25 million Superfast Essex project separately aims to make BT’s “fibre broadband” (FTTC/P) network available to “around” 87% of local premises by the end of summer 2016, including some of those within FIBREWiFi’s coverage.
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 Twitter, Google+, Facebook and Linkedin.
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Ouch.
Why ouch? With no landline rental requirement and symmetrical speeds the Ultra package for example compares well with BT infinity 1 which has a slower upload speed and probably for much of the area a slower download speed too.
Also, they reach areas which aren’t even covered by the BDUK/BT cartell. And, as far as I know, BT does not offer symmetric copper-VDSL services. In fact, BT has no comparable products!
I’m an “old” customer (on the lowest level of service). I get the top whack for my speeds all the time on downloads and usually 75% on uploads. For comparison I’ve also got VDSL at 650m (average) from the cab – the WiFi beats it for latency and the absence of congestion issues – so much so that although the downloads should be 2-3x better on VDSL, it regularly exceeds them, and its twice as fast on the uploads. I’m about five miles from the mast too. Quite impressed. Downtime is negligible. I’ve had it now for about four years, had problems for the first six months which was due to a dodgy receiver at my end, after that was replaced things have gone swimmingly. As with all IT not everyone has the same experience, of course.
look at the over priced fibre packages what a rip off
Then try to find any comparable package from BT at this price:
BUSINESS
2-100Mbps Symmetrical
Totally Unlimited Usage
1-1 Contention Ratio
PRICE: from £145 +vat per month
The nearest equivalent via a BT-landline to our office (Ethernet line) was quoted at £2100.00 per month. So who’s the rip-off?
You were quoted £2100pm for a 2 Mbps connection?
Didn’t you tell us that BT ignored your request for leased-line prices? Weren’t you going to move offices because it was impossible to get a quote?
Anyway… You have to assume that the £145 amount is for the smaller end of the 2-100 scale. That makes it a similar price to entry-level pricing from Spitfire for contention-free leased lines; it is slightly less than copper EFM and slightly more than GEA-Ethernet.
On the whole, the pricing doesn’t seem extortionate. Higher than the bare-minimum packages from the likes of TalkTalk, but not out of reach for family use – and well worthwhile if you can only get < 1Mbps
I think the business services have always been available, though not advertised. When I joined them they were a business service. I hope the pricing for higher speeds does take account of the likely outcome of the business rates review though, which still favours the incumbent. That’s the fly in the ointment.
@MikeW: My mistake, the news story actually reads ‘2-100MBps’. not ‘100MBps’.
And yes, it can take persistence to get leased lines quotes, that one wasn’t from BT (which still refuses to do so), but from another provider who would install his own fibre line though it would go through the same local exchange.
We don’t use BT landlines anyway. And BDUK does not cover every area, especially not in Suffolk or North Essex, even if they did, it wouldn’t be more than a poor copper VDSL service, nothing suitable for businesses.
You’ll notice that BT doesn’t offer symmetric fibre broadband services, nor does it offer symmetrical VDSL services, it is quite rare to see similar services like the FibreWiFi Premier. BT doesn’t even offer naked DSL, they tend to throw in usesless voice telephony packages with their so-called broadband lines.
thing is isp are having a laugh with the setup fees they charge extortionate isn’t the word
The setup costs are comparable to that of BT, BT charges £130.00 for a line setup. Also, BT charges something like £15.99 (or much higher if a leased line!) per month for a so-called line rental.
The set up charge is because you need a rooftop receiver on a pole like that for a terrestrial TV aerial to receive the OTA signal – so how much does an external TV aerial set up cost? And you can use VOIP rather than line rental, and how much is that pa?
so Neuhoff have you managed to find out if you are covered by the Essex BDUk deployment or not as yet