AltNet ISP Wessex Internet Refreshes UK FTTP Broadband Plans
Broadband ISP Wessex Internet, which is building a new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network across rural parts of Dorset, Wiltshire, Hampshire and Somerset in England, appears to have recently refreshed some of their full fibre packages – offering faster plans for less money.
Firstly, the bad news. The provider has not improved their entry-level 100Mbps (15Mbps upload) tier on a 12-month term, which continues to charge £29 per month (plus a £49 activation fee) but caps data usage at just 100GB (GigaBytes) per month – well below Ofcom’s national monthly average for fixed broadband lines of 482GB.
The good news is that they’ve replaced their next £44 per month 100Mbps (30Mbps upload) unlimited usage tier with a new £39.50 package that offers unlimited usage and speeds of 250Mbps (125Mbps upload). The £59 per month 350Mbps (125Mbps upload) package has also been replaced by a new £55 per month 500Mbps (250Mbps upload) plan.
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Finally, Wessex Internet’s top 900Mbps package has been given an upload boost to 450Mbps (previously 300Mbps), while its price has dropped from £84 to £79 per month. Overall, the provider continues to lack an attractive entry-level tier for helping to entice customers away from much cheaper but slower FTTC and ADSL2+ packages in some of their locations, but they have improved a bit in other areas.
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads.net and Linkedin.
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Not sure what is more greedy: capping data usage (a thing I had 20 years ago) or charging 50 for the install.
55 reviews on trustpilot means that less than 500 people are paying for these ripoff prices
To be fair, a lot of WI’s FTTP has been built in remote rural areas where rival full fibre has yet to tread due to the high cost of build, which partly explains the pricing. But at the same time, we do see a fair few rival FTTP deployments crossing into some of their patch, which makes it more of an issue.
I thought data caps had vanished apart from the odd few like A&A, but A&A is aimed at a different market, which is why they are so expensive. Then again, I thought 24-month contracts were a thing of the past and look who that have worked out.
A lot of Wessex Internet’s provision is supported by public funds from Connecting Devon and Somerset. I think the idea of a cap on usage these days is crazy, particularly when it is so low. Luckily we have OpenReach so even though Wessex Internet we’re scheduled to build in my area they won’t be ripping us off.
Unfortunately for Wessex, although they do use their own staff for a lot if not all the work, as they’ve been slow to roll out Gigaclear has come and also installed fibre networks in a lot of there areas and they charge about half the cost.
And there are several other providers who use Gigaclears network too. So need to see how you could justify Wessex Internet?
All I can say is good luck to anyone waiting on Wessex Internet for FTTP. I live in Dorset, was originally promised April/May, so I signed up having no other FTTP option and fairly unreliable 1980’s copper cables. Then I was told, oh, sorry, Its going to be June or July.
Now I’ve been told December 2023 or January 2024 as they are having problems accessing our village!!
These Alt Nets should be policed as far as their promises go.