UK ISP TalkTalk Confirm First Prices for 940Mbps FTTH Broadband in York

Internet provider TalkTalk has revealed the first package and price details for their new 940Mbps capable Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH/P) broadband network in the city of York (England), which as we revealed last month is being called Ultra Fibre Optic (UFO). Existing customers will effectively get it at “no extra cost“.

The somewhat experimental new network is being built as part of a joint venture between TalkTalk, Sky Broadband and Cityfibre (here). Each ISP is known to have contributed £5m to the first phase, which will cover 20,000 premises and that leaves roughly 60,000 left to be completed at a later date (more investment will be required).

The most recent status update from TalkTalk (here) suggested that some 1,200 of the 20,000 premises required for phase 1 had already been put within reach of the service and the first customers were expected to go live during the Autumn, which means that now would be a logical time to reveal the consumer prices.

According to TalkTalk, homes and businesses in York will be able to take its new ultrafast broadband “at no extra cost” and it “will come as standard” with their three consumer packages – SimplyBroadband, Essentials TV and Plus TV – as well as TalkTalk’s Complete Business Broadband package for small to medium sized firms.

In reality what this means is that the ISP has adopted a new pricing model where customers pay an all-in monthly price instead of splitting out a headline cost and line rental, which is similar to what some other pure fibre optic ISPs do because separate phone line rental is no longer a strict requirement like it is on BT’s network. The all-in consumer packages start with Simply Broadband at £21.70 per month and Complete Business Broadband at £25 a month.

The ISP claims that this makes them the “first and only UK ISP to offer pure fibre for the same price as standard broadband“, although B4RN might well challenge that given how they offer 1000Mbps for £30 per month and that’s also about the same as a standard broadband + line rental package.

Dido Harding, CEO of TalkTalk, said:

“The UK has lived with broadband infrastructure that has suffered significant underinvestment for too long and we lag well behind the rest of Europe when it comes to rolling out pure, ultrafast, fibre networks. We have the potential to become the world’s leading digital economy, but we need this kind of investment in superior fibre infrastructure to make this a reality.

Ultra Fibre Optic will revolutionise the broadband experience in York by giving consumers and businesses access to all the speed and bandwidth they could ever need, at an affordable price, future-proofing the city and making York better off.”

Chris Steward, Leader of City of York Council, said:

“It is great to see this project is continuing to progress and we’re delighted York is the first city to benefit from Ultra Fibre Optic. Ultrafast broadband will help boost the local economy and provide a better quality service for residents and businesses across the city.”

The UFO website has been busy taking pre-registration interest since last month, although it’s interesting to note that today’s press release includes a specific mention of the Huntington and Groves areas of York (i.e. these looks set to be the first locations the benefit). Locals are being nudged to express their interest and existing TalkTalk customers will of course be given priority.

Apparently if enough people in Huntington and Groves vote for the service then Sky Broadband and TalkTalk will also connect a nominated good cause in the community with ultrafast broadband. It could be a local charity, community hub or a good cause that supports the local area.

Crucially TalkTalk has also setup its own portal for the UFO service – https://ultrafibreoptic.talktalk.co.uk. Two further cities may also receive the network, but they’ve yet to be named.

NOTE: The network can do up to 1000Mbps (Gigabit), although TalkTalk are actually advertising the service as 940Mbps (probably to please the advertising rules).