ISP toob Begins GBP9m Gigabit Broadband Rollout in Aldershot

Portsmouth-based UK ISP toob has announced that they’ve begun the deployment of a new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network in the Hampshire (England) town of Aldershot, which should ultimately see their service being extended to cover 23,000 premises.

At present the operator, which was originally setup by a group of Vodafone’s former directors and is being supported by an initial investment of £75m (here), has already begun deployments in the Hampshire city of Southampton, as well as the Surrey towns of Camberley and Frimley.

At the end of last year toob revealed that they also planned a future expansion into Aldershot, Ash, Farnborough, Green, Guildford, Mytchett, West Byfleet and Woking (here). The good news is that Aldershot has today become the fourth location where work has started and this is set to cost them £9m in order to reach 23,000 premises (i.e. £391 per premises passed).

The provider will also examine, alongside Rushmoor Borough Council, the possibility of expanding this new network to other parts of the borough. Otherwise, the first customers in the town are expected to be connected by the end of this year.

Nick Parbutt, toob’s CEO, said:

“We have always viewed the deployment of full-fibre networks as an economic and social necessity and the current challenges we are facing only reinforces this belief. With the announcement of our next location, I am delighted that we can bring the benefits of full-fibre broadband to more families, businesses and communities. This is a very exciting time for toob as we continue the expansion outside of Southampton, and we are delighted to be getting started in Aldershot. We know there is a real need for affordable, reliable, hyperspeed internet and we are quickly filling that gap in the market with thousands of happy customers.”

Cllr David Clifford, Leader of Rushmoor Borough Council, said:

“We welcome this investment in Aldershot, and I am delighted to see that it is starting to be delivered on the ground. This technology will help to support a growing economy and help secure the future prosperity of our borough.”

Customers on the new network currently pay just £25 per month to access their top unlimited 900Mbps+ (average) symmetric speed service on an 18-month minimum contract term (£29 thereafter), which is accompanied by a wireless router, free installation (temporary offer) and unlimited usage.

The pricing is incredibly cheap for a commercial FTTP ISP, which seems intended to peel away customers from rivals. Speaking of gigabit-capable rivals, Aldershot is already widely covered by Virgin Media’s network and Openreach has also deployed some FTTP in the odd area, as have OFNL and Hyperoptic. But clearly, Virgin Media will be their main competitor.