Zzoomm Add Askern in South Yorkshire to FTTP Broadband Build

Alternative UK network builder and broadband ISP Zzoomm has today announced that they’ve added the South Yorkshire (England) town of Askern to their rollout plan for a new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP.) network. The operator will invest £1.6m to cover 3,000 homes and businesses in the location.

Surrounded by the South Yorkshire countryside, Askern will join some of Zzoomm’s other nearby towns, including South Elmsall, Hemsworth, Bolton upon Dearne and Thurnscoe, in becoming part of their gigabit network. But the provider hasn’t said when the local rollout in Askern will start or complete.

Once live, customers on the new network will be able to pay from £33 per month for an unlimited 150Mbps (symmetric speed) package on a 24-month term with an included Icotera router, which goes up to £99 if you want their top 2Gbps tier (or £66 for 900Mbps+). Most packages do attract a £20 one-off activation fee, but they’re also offering the first 6 months of service for free.

The catch is that Askern is also being targeted by similar full fibre builds from both Openreach and FullFibre Limited, which is quite a lot of infrastructure level competition (possibly too much) for such a small location to be able to sustain.

Matthew Hare, CEO of Zzoomm, said:

“It’s fantastic to be continuing our expansion across South Yorkshire, ensuring homes and businesses in Askern join nearby towns in receiving future ready broadband. Our latest investment will give residents unmatched speeds that is not reliant on the slow, unreliable copper used by traditional broadband providers in the area. Get ready for fabulous Full Fibre, Askern!”

So far the provider, which aims to reach 1 million premises across 85 UK towns by the end of 2025, has mostly focused its rollout on smaller towns in parts Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Herefordshire, North Yorkshire, Staffordshire, Wiltshire, West Yorkshire and Cheshire. The operator has already covered 50,000 premises (July 2022), which is up from 10,000 in December 2021 and rising fast.