Persimmon Homes ISP FibreNest Keeps Broadband Prices Frozen

UK ISP FibreNest, which is the full fibre (FTTP) broadband network for new build housing sites developed by Persimmon Homes, has announced that they’ve opted to buck this year’s most frustrating industry trend – of major internet provider’s announcing huge price hikes (here) – by freezing their prices for the third year running.

The move means that Fibrenest will join KCOM (here) and Fibrus (here) in holding the moral high ground by keeping their prices on hold during one of the biggest cost of living crises in recent memory. Meanwhile, many of the market’s biggest players are instead implementing annual hikes of over 9%, which is roughly double what we’d normally expect.

The provider was originally created to address customer complaints that established broadband suppliers were frequently failing to install ultrafast internet connections ready to use as soon as they moved in, although they have faced some gripes over their dominant position at such sites. The operator is attempting to resolve the latter by opening their network up to wholesale (here), yet it remains to be seen if this attracts any familiar ISPs.

Liam Ronan, FibreNest MD, said:

“At a time when others are raising their prices by as much as 10 per cent, the business is pleased to continue to provide customers with what is in effect a real terms price cut.

Utility costs are rising for everyone. The increase in energy bills is well documented and so too is the huge number of people now working from home who rely on excellent online connectivity. I am delighted therefore that we have chosen not to introduce an annual price increase for the third year running.

We launched FibreNest three years ago to ensure our customers could be assured of a better broadband service and guaranteed value as part of their decision to purchase a Persimmon home. Many are first time buyers and we fully understand what a big decision and financial commitment this can be. Our price guarantee means that FibreNest’s customers will never pay more for the same speed package than with the UK’s largest broadband provider.”

New customers can expect to pay from just £14 per month – plus a £20 one-off setup fee – for their basic entry-level unlimited 10Mbps (1Mbps upload) package on a 12-month term, which rises up to just £45 for their top 500Mbps (50Mbps upload) tier with free setup. You can also take a 30-day term, but it adds £5 to the monthly charge.

Despite being focused on New Build sites, FibreNest has recently started expanding their national network to also cover “existing underserved properties,” although the specifics of that expansion are currently unclear (we’ve requested more detail).

UPDATE 2nd Feb 2022

We asked FibreNest about their plans to tackle existing underserved properties, and they confirmed that this “means any housing where customers may be dissatisfied with the performance of their service, whether Persimmon-built or not,” which could be said to apply to a lot of the UK.