ISP Grain Extends UK FTTP Broadband Rollout to Liverpool

UK ISP Grain Connect, which recently secured a £75m equity investment from Equitix to help fuel their rollout of a new Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network to 300,000 premises (here), has today announced that their 1000Mbps+ capable service is being deployed to homes and businesses in the city of Liverpool.

Grain’s exact rollout ambition for the City is unclear, although some of the first streets to benefit in their initial phase include those between Stanley Street and Hawthorne Street, and will also include Wadham Road, Bedford Road and Olivia Street, with plans to expand to “thousands more homes in the coming months.”

The provider is also deploying in nearby Accrington, as well as across parts of Grimsby, Scarborough (North Yorkshire), Carlisle, Barrow-in-Furness and even Blackburn, among others. Grain’s current UK rollout programme is expected to be delivered over the next 5-years (i.e. by 2026).

Customers can expect to pay from £25 per month for a symmetric speed 50Mbps package, which goes up to £55 for their top 900Mbps plan. All of these packages come with an 18-month minimum contract term, free installation and a router.

Tracy Karam, Head of Customer Experience for Grain, said:

“The response from residents and businesses has been very positive, with many already signing up to the service before work on their street has even been completed.

Our service has become even more popular in recent months, as customers rely more and more on fast, reliable and secure network for working, learning, gaming, and entertainment. We are pleased to be rolling out our offer prices to the residents of Liverpool, allowing them to access true full-fibre at unbeatable prices.”

The city of Liverpool is an interesting choice for Grain because they won’t be the only gigabit-capable broadband network in the area. Both Openreach (via FTTP) and Virgin Media already have extensive coverage of the city, while Hyperoptic has similarly delivered their full fibre network to many of the area’s large apartment blocks (MDUs). Elsewhere, ITS Technology has deployed into some parts and OFNL has a tiny presence near the centre.