Full Fibre ISP Zzoomm Criticised for “unacceptable” Resurfacing Work

Alternative network builder and UK broadband ISP Zzoomm has faced some criticism from locals in the North Yorkshire (England) town of Stokesley after resurfacing work conducted by their engineers left “mismatched Tarmac and bumpy paths“, which residents complained were potentially unsafe (trip hazard).

The provider, which aims to reach 1 million premises across 85 UK towns by the end of 2025, has typically focused its Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) rollouts 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.

However, the operator’s work in parts of Stokesley appears not to have been left in the best of states, as illustrated by some pictures on Teesside Live. The issues were raised again this week at the Stokesley Town Council on Tuesday and the good news is that the provider has already started to rectify the problems.

According to Zzoomm, the work carried out by subcontractors in December 2022 occurred during a period of freezing temperatures (most people will probably remember this), which allegedly caused the new Tarmac to warp and become uneven. In fairness, we have seen cases like this before, and it’s sometimes wise not to lay tarmac on to freezing surfaces, as the mix tends to cool too rapidly and may not make for a durable surface.

Further resurfacing works are set to follow over the coming weeks, and councillors urged the ISP to take particular care when it came to the town’s many cobbled paths. For its part, Zzoomm has also acknowledged that the quality of work was “unacceptable” and they’ve committed to resolve it.

Deploying new infrastructure in the payment will inevitably always create periods of disruption and sometimes the work itself doesn’t always go according to plan, which may attract complaints. But often what matters is how operators respond when this occurs and, in the long run, the ability to access affordable 1Gbps broadband speeds should hopefully make all of this worthwhile.