KCOM Group Re-brand Hull ISP KC and All Siblings to Just “KCOM”

The KCOM Group (formerly Kingston Communications), which owns Hull and East Yorkshire’s incumbent broadband provider KC and several other brands (Smart421, Eclipse Internet and Kcom), has begun informing customers of their decision to re-brand everything under the single name of just “KCOM“.

An official announcement is due to be made sometime this week, although existing customers are already starting to receive a letter about the brand change (thanks to those who forwarded us a copy) and this confirms that the change will be introduced from 4th April 2016. “We’re changing our company name to make things easier & better for everyone,” said a KC KCOM spokesperson.

Naturally there’s also the usual PR spin about this being more than just a name change, although none of the below mentioned enhancements actually hinge on the name change and most are already happening (e.g. the on-going FTTP roll-out).

A KCOM Spokesperson said:

“Our new brand is more than just a change of name. As well as our new look, we’ll be investing more in the things that matter to you, our customers, such as the roll-out of superfast broadband across our network. We’ll also be improving our customer service and making it easier for you to get in touch when you need us.”

The letter also advises customers not to worry because their contracts will remain unchanged and apparently KCOM’s “commitment to Hull and East Yorkshire is as strong as ever and we will continue our involvement in the many outstanding local charities, community groups and events we support.”

The move makes sense for most of their brands, although we’re a little concerned that it may cause confusion for customers of Eclipse Internet, which operates a business focused ISP and provides services across the United Kingdom (not just around Hull like KC/KCOM).

At this stage we don’t know if the plan here is to absorb Eclipse into KC/KCOM’s operations (risky as people tend to associate KC/KCOM as being for East Yorkshire only) or if they’ll retain some degree of separation, although the latter could be difficult to achieve under a single name.