KC Fibre Broadband Rollout Update – 32000 Premises Passed in Hull UK

Telecoms operator KC (KCOM Group), which serves Hull and some other parts of East Yorkshire in England, has confirmed that their superfast 350Mbps capable fibre optic (FTTP/C) Lightstream broadband product has now passed 32,000 homes and businesses with 9,000 customers connected (28% uptake) and more areas confirmed for the future upgrade plan.

The latest roll-out update, which represents an increase from the 24,700 premises passed and 5,900 connected (24% uptake) recorded in November 2013, states that the next phase of KC’s deployment will focus upon many different parts of Brough, Hessle, Kingswood (KC began deployments here in 2012 but some areas remain unfinished) and the Avenues area of Hull between now and the end of 2014 (a break-down of the new areas can be found below).

It’s important to remember that most of KC’s Lightstream product deployment is being dominated by their 350Mbps capable fibre optic (Fibre-to-the-Premises – FTTP/H) network, which is the reverse of BT’s approach where the slower hybrid-fibre Fibre-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC) solution is the priority. KC’s previous goal was to reach 30,000 premises by the end of 2013 and their ultimate aim is to achieve 45,000 by March 2015.

Sue Helmont, KC’s Director of Consumer Services, said:

“We’re seeing increasing demand from customers for KC Lightstream as the growing popularity of services like BBC iPlayer and YouView from KC mean more people than ever are streaming online TV.

The number of homes that have more than one internet-connected device is also growing, and the guaranteed download speeds Lightstream delivers is perfect for households where several laptops, tablets or smartphones are online at the same time.

Our investment in Lightstream is all about giving local people the best-connected homes and businesses in the UK, and we’re delighted to be making the service available to more of our customers.”

Brough Deployments from May 2014
Brentwood Close
Cavendish Park
Drovers Rise
St Marys Close
Higham Way
Welton Road
Welton Low Road
Woodlands Lane
Ling Croft
Saltgrounds Road
Centurion Way
Broadley Way
Myrtle Way
Ruskin Way
Brough Business Centre

Hessle Deployments from August 2014
Richmond Road
Cottesmore Road
Boothferry Road
Kelston Drive
Bedford Road
Fishemore Avenue
Northolme Road

The Avenues Deployments from October 2014
Marlborough Avenue
Westbourne Avenue
Park Avenue
Victoria Avenue
Belvoir Street
Thoresby Street
Newstead Street
Perth Street
Perth Street West
Lynton Avenue

Prices for KC’s Lightstream service start at £36 per month (plus £50 one-off connection fee) for a 50Mbps download speed (5Mbps upload) package with a 70GB usage allowance, free wireless router and free UK voice calls on an 18 month contract. At present their top HOME package is a 100Mbps (10Mbps uploads) option with an unlimited usage allowance and free connection for £50 per month.

Interestingly KC’s latest roll-out update claims the service offers “guaranteed download speeds“, although we suspect that this is merely a bit of PR spin because the home packages are not accompanied by a firm Service Level Agreement (SLA); this would be needed to support a proper guarantee.