KC’s Fibre Optic Broadband Reaches 40,000 Hull and East Yorkshire Premises

The incumbent telecoms operator for Hull and East Yorkshire in England, KC (KCOM), has announced that the roll-out of their new superfast “Lightstream” fibre optic (FTTP/C) broadband network in the region has now reached 40,000 premises passed, with 12,000 having already subscribed (30% uptake).

The announcement means that KC are already well on the way to achieving close to their goal of 45,000 local homes and businesses (premises passed) by March 2015, with the bulk of these being connected via the operators 350Mbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP/H) network (note: consumer packages currently only go up to 100Mbps). Some have also gained access via slower FTTC services, but those are in the minority.

Apparently demand for the service has been so strong that KC has had to make an additional 2,000 Lightstream installation appointments available between now and the end of March. The latest area to go live is Howdale Road, where some 600 homes have just been connected to KC’s new fibre network.

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

“The latest development in fibre roll-out is great news for customers in the Howdale Road area and for the hundreds of customers who call us each week to switch to our KC Lightstream service.

Thousands of local households unwrapped smart TVs, tablets and iPhones at Christmas, which means more time spent online using the likes of Netflix, BBC iPlayer and YouTube. Lightstream is perfect for households with lots of online devices, and our investment in 2,000 extra appointments means we can connect more customers more quickly.

Lightstream’s success is also good news for the region’s economy. The additional work the extra appointments have created have led to seven new jobs at our roll-out partner, Light Source.”

Meanwhile the next location(s) on KC’s Lightstream roll-out plan include areas off Beverley High Road and Princes Avenue. The service is anticipated to become available to around 2,000 households in these areas between January and March 2015.

However there are many more premises left to be done in the region and as we approach March it will be interesting to see if KC has a concrete plan for pushing the network out even further. One equally interesting question is whether any future expansion will continue to be dominated by FTTP, or if KC will cut its costs and top achievable speeds by using more FTTC.