ISP TalkTalk Biz Sees 170 Percent Increase in Full Fibre Footprint UPDATE

UK ISP TalkTalk Business claims to have “significantly boosted the reach” of its Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband offering over the last year, with the number of premises across the UK able to implement the solution rising by 170% between July 2020 and July 2021. Over the same period, orders from customers surged by 50%.

In response to this demand, which the ISP says has been driven by the hybrid working boom (i.e. more people working from home due to the pandemic), TalkTalk claims to have “invested heavily in its network and new services“, increasing its network capacity by 27% in the last 12 months.

The provider also points to its own recent analysis, which found that 85% of organisations expect to operate some form of hybrid working in the future, with 74% of employers viewing at-home workspaces as an extension of the office – driving a demand for reliable connectivity.

Jon Nowell, Director of Small Business at TTB, said:

“There’s no doubt about it – the business landscape has completely transformed over the last year, and much of this transformation is here to stay. With the rise of hybrid working, a significant uplift in the use of video streaming and rapid digital transformation, it’s become clear that fast, efficient connectivity can enable business success.

Amidst challenging circumstances, innovation, the ability to adapt, and flexible ways of working have all become crucial – and fast, reliable solutions such as full fibre provide the foundation for businesses to build on these qualities even further.”

One slight confusion in all this is the provider’s opening statement, which talks about having “significantly boosted the reach” of their FTTP broadband services by 170%. Except TalkTalk isn’t the one deploying FTTP infrastructure any more, they gave that up with the sale of their FibreNation infrastructure to CityFibre.

As it stands, TT is currently dependent upon the rollout plans and investment levels of Openreach, CityFibre and Freedom Fibre etc. In other words, the ISP appears to be claiming credit for something that infrastructure builders have been delivering without their help.

UPDATE 9:51am

TTB has re-issued the press release with amended wording, which no longer directly reads like they’re claiming credit for the FTTP rollout. Instead, it starts: “Between July 2020 and July 2021, TalkTalk Business saw a 50% increase in customer orders despite an uncertain business landscape. This was supported by a significant boost to the reach of its Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) footprint in the same period, with the number of businesses and homes across the UK able to access the solution via TalkTalk Business rising by 170%.”