Upp Pick Nokia to Help Deliver its UK FTTP Broadband Network

Network operator Upp has announced that they’ve chosen Finnish telecoms firm Nokia to be the delivery partner for a huge chunk (c. 400,000 premises) of their project, which is working to rollout a new gigabit-capable full fibre broadband ISP network across the East of England.

Upp – supported by investment from LetterOne – is investing £1bn (£300m in equity and the rest as debt) to build their new Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network to cover 1 million premises in the East of England by 2025 (here). The build has already begun in several towns across Norfolk and Lincolnshire (e.g. Stamford and Diss) and they aim to cover 50 towns (c.300,000 homes) in the two counties by the end of 2022.

Sadly, Upp has remained extremely secretive about their rollout, and as a result it’s unclear how much progress they’ve made. But we do now know that Nokia will now be providing them with a full end-to-end service, drawing on its automation capabilities and experience in designing and delivering full fibre networks (i.e. design services, as well as the project, programme and construction management of multiple civil engineering / cabling contractors).

The operator claims that this deal “will have an immediate impact by accelerating the build schedule in key strategic areas“, although it’s difficult to judge this since we don’t know how much progress they’ve actually been making. The partnership will see Nokia reach 400,000 homes to help realise Upp’s long-term goal of connecting 1 million homes.

Upp CEO, Drew Ritchie, said:

“Nokia brings additional expertise to Upp, following their experiences supporting similar sized projects in Germany, Spain and Poland. Their experience and automation capabilities will bring a huge advantage to our delivery team. In Nokia we have a delivery partner that will help us to continue our rollout of next level broadband to the areas of the country that need it most.”

Customers of the new service tend to pay from just £26 month on a 24-month term for their unlimited 200Mbps packages (including router and installation), which rises to £43 for their top 900Mbps plan. The first month of service is also free. Such pricing is aggressive and clearly designed to peel customers away from rivals.