Brsk Plan FTTP Broadband for 150K Greater Manchester Homes

UK ISP Brsk, which is busy building a new gigabit-capable and “open access” Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network, has today announced a major expansion that will see them aim to cover 150,000 premises across the Greater Manchester area (i.e. Stockport and the surrounding areas, with plans for Middleton and Oldham).

The operator began their rollout last year in the village of Cottingley, which has since been followed by the towns of Keighley and Bingley (50,000 premises for those two), as well as Clayton, Allerton & Sandy Lane, Heaton & Daisy Hill. More recently they’ve also added Burnley and Padiham (another 50,000 premises), as well as Bradford, then Queensbury and Thornton, plus Accrington.

However, the latest announcement represents the provider’s biggest expansion yet, which will see 150,000 premises being covered across parts of Greater Manchester. The work looks set to start in South Manchester, with Stockport and Edgeley expected to be the first to benefit (services in Stockport will go live in May 2022). But it’s unclear when this specific rollout is expected to complete.

After that the build will extend to include the areas of Adswood, Burnage, Davenport, Didsbury, Heaton Chapel, Heaton Mersey, Heaton Moor, Heaton Norris, Ladybarn, Offerton, Parrs Wood, Portwood and Reddish. As usual, local schools in these areas will often benefit from being offered free connectivity.

Giorgio Iovino, Brsk Founder and CEO, said:

“We know that many areas of Manchester have suffered for a long time with slow broadband speeds, so we’re excited to bring affordable full fibre broadband to residents. Not only is our service faster and better equipped for the future, but we also provide ‘Excellent’ customer service as standard.

The difference needs to be felt to be believed, which is why we’re inviting residents in parts of Stockport and Manchester to try out our full fibre services against their current provider. Our full fibre network is future proof, so as families grow, and as more people connect their devices, our network will be the better choice as our collective demand for bandwidth continues to increase.”

Prices typically start from £25 per month for an unlimited 100Mbps symmetric speed package on an 18-month term with free installation and an included router, which rises to £45 for their top 900Mbps package. Customers who sign up early will be able to try 1Gbps for free, for the first 6-months of service, with no obligation or commitment.

As usual, Brsk won’t be alone in Greater Manchester. A number of gigabit-capable broadband rivals are either busy expanding their networks in the area or have already completed their rollout, including players like Virgin Media, Openreach, Hyperoptic, CityFibre and the ITS Technology Group. OFNL also has a tiny presence on a couple of new build sites.