MS3 Starts Build of Trial FTTH Ultrafast Broadband Network in Hull UK

Communications provider MS3 has today begun the roll-out of their new “ultrafast” Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH/P) based broadband network in West Hull (East Yorkshire, England), which is supported by an initial investment of £500K and will cover a trial area of roughly 1,200 homes.

The new connectHull service, which was first unveiled in September 2016 and touted as a competitor to KCOM’s rival FTTP network in the local market (here and here), is expected to cover locations around Calvert Lane, Hamlyn Avenue, Cardigan Road, Meadowbank Road, Roslyn Road, Morris Road, Woldcarr Road, Northfield Road, Springfield Road and Parkfield Drive.

MS3 currently predicts that the roll-out will cost roughly £500 per home passed (similar to the Cityfibre and TalkTalk deployment of FTTP in York) and if this is successful then they intend to reach 20,000+ homes per year from 2017 onwards. Further details are expected to be released next month.

Tony Hales, MS3’s Managing Director, told ISPreview.co.uk:

“It is fantastic to see our contractors working hard on the network build for ConnectHull. We’ve had a great initial take-up from residents within the trial area and the demand shows that Hull wants an alternative choice for fixed-line broadband.”

Admittedly MS3 faces a long battle because KCOM’s dominance of the market won’t be unseated overnight, particularly as their own FTTP network can already cover 100,000 premises in the region and they’re aiming to reach 150,000 by December 2017. But many local people want to see more competition for KCOM and connectHull will seek to harness that desire.