BT Deal Allows UK ISP Cuckoo to Sell Openreach Broadband Packages Again
A new wholesale agreement between BT Wholesale and AllPoints Fibre (APFN) has today been announced, which among other things means that anchor tenant ISP Cuckoo will be able to offer full fibre broadband (FTTP) packages via Openreach’s network.. again (some related services were withdrawn earlier this year and customers booted to a different ISP).
Just to recap. Cuckoo is currently still in the process of becoming the main retail broadband ISP outlet for Fern Trading’s (Octopus Investments) consolidated UK full fibre networks (Jurassic Fibre, Swish Fibre and Giganet) – under the APFN brand. Cuckoo also sells packages via CityFibre’s national network and, prior to all that, they used to have wide FTTC and FTTP coverage via Openreach’s national network too.
However, the situation took an unexpected turn at the start of this year, which occurred after Cuckoo stopped selling Openreach’s FTTP based packages to new customers (this came months after they’d also withdrawn FTTC services – here). This was then, almost immediately, followed by the somewhat more shocking decision to boot some of those same customers off their platform and on to a different ISP (here) – an unusual move in such an aggressively competitive market.
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Cuckoo later clarified to ISPreview that their “existing copper customer base alongside a small cohort of FTTP customers connected via TalkTalk” (i.e. the lines based off their TT Wholesale agreement) would be the ones transferred to the new provider (Home Telecom). But the provider also confusingly stated that they were planning a “further national expansion” later in 2024, which would reintroduce support for Openreach’s fibre.
The first hints that Openreach might be returned to the fold came a few weeks ago, after several of ISPreview’s readers began reporting that Cuckoo had started accepting sign-ups in some of Openreach’s FTTP areas, including those that had previously been stopped. The development has today been confirmed as part of a new agreement between BTW and APFN.
Jarlath Finnegan, APFN Group CEO, said:
“Our close and growing partnership with BT Wholesale is a key part of our strategic plans. We’re delighted to be working with them and look forward to many years of collaboration ahead.”
Gavin Jones, Channel Director of BT Wholesale, said:
“We’re pleased to be working with APFN as they gain access to our full fibre services, opening up the benefits of enhanced connectivity to more customers, to support a range of uses and devices.”
The challenge for Cuckoo will now be in rebuilding their reputation and consumer trust, which inevitably took a bit of a hit after the previous events. Discarding a base like that, only to reintroduce support for the same underling network a few months later, is not a good look. But this does at least help to support yesterday’s Giganet news (here), since that migration will also include a few Openreach based customers (as well as those on Cityfibre and Giganet’s own FTTP).
Otherwise, Cuckoo is now charging the same price for their Openreach based FTTP packages as for their CityFibre ones, albeit with the difference that CityFibre’s network offers faster (symmetric) uploads. Prices start at £28 per month for 150Mbps (25Mbps upload) on a 24-month term, which rises to £35 for 500Mbps (70Mbps) and £42 for 900Mbps (110Mbps). You also get a £50 shopping card on their 500Mbps tier and £100 on 900Mbps.
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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.
« Broadband ISP Cuckoo Retires Giganet Brand and Shifts UK Customers
After the way they’ve treated customers in the past and damaged their reputation, they’re going to have to offer some very attractive deals to entice new customers.
£42 per month with a £100 gift card on a 24 month commitment — that’s an effective monthly price of £37.83. Is Cuckoo offering the cheapest fixed price gigabit broadband on Openreach’s network?
Well, there own website has a “how do we compare?” bit on the bottom of this page: https://www.cuckoo.co/broadband
…Which informs all of their prospective customers that voda is cheaper.
They really aren’t doing themselves any favours.
The vodafone one has a typo i think. C-150 for 31 gbp, C-500 for 41 gbp, C-900 for again 31 gbp?
No mention of any new or existing customers being migrated to Cuckoo who have or require a landline that uses VoIP.
Does Cuckoo allow customers to use their own routers as they only supply it Amazon Eero routers. The help screen options they have are very helpful ,but this topic isn’t clear. I am an existing Giganet customer and we were allowed to use our own routers and Giganet did supply the connect details, password and Vlan information.
If I was a former customer of theirs I wouldn’t be able to trust them again after that stunt of discarding their previous Openreach based FTTP customers regardless of reason.
Wholesale deals come and go, and a good ISP would ensure their customers are transferred smoothly to their new wholesale partner whether it be from BT Wholesale, to on net via Openreach, or even via Talktalk Business. I know it can be done as I work for an ISP which has done it.
They blew their chance in my opinion.
I would feel the same way and not want to go back, clearly no thought for existing customers who were swapped over from Shell via the Octopus Energy,take over, then dumped by Cuckoo and moved elsewhere.
There are many ISP’s out there to choose from. It will be interesting to see what happens when Sky start to offer a broadband service using the City Fibre network in 2025.
So they were offering Openreach services via Talk Talk Wholesale and now they will be offering Openreach services via BT Wholesale. Maybe not quite such a dramatic U Turn as it initially appears to be. I’m guessing there may have been more issues going on between Cuckoo & Talk Talk Wholesale than meets the eye.
Didnt they use Zen backhaul whilst Giganet?
If they have deals with CityFibre and BT Wholesale, what’s the point of APFN? Surely it’s just Cuckoo now?
One of the comments on the previous story about Cuckoo suggested that CityFibre were likely to acquire the All Points Fibre network and it isn’t the first time I’ve heard this rumour on this site. If this were true (and I have no evidence to suggest it is) then it suddenly makes a lot more sense. CityFibre want nothing to do with retail ISPs so Fern could retain the Cuckoo retail ISP and then it would make sense for them to sign up with Openreach as a wholesale provider (and possibly other networks as well).
If/when Cityfibre did acquire APFN you’d have to feel sorry for the ex Cityfibre employees that ended up at APFN (I know of a few).
After been promised the earth then being made redundant by Cityfibre, join APFN only to have Cityfibre buy them and make the same people redundant again.
It’s a crazy industry!
@Acquisition by Cityfibre…
And that’s exactly why they have people on short term contracts, so they don’t have to make them redundant, far easier and cheaper to just not renew the contract.
Cityfibre still have the customers from the LIT Fibre which they are known to want shot of. If there was a deal perhaps they could end up getting sent in the opposite direction.
Well the whole strategy of the group of companies is indeed Cuckoo.
The only sane thing about the name.
What’s actually happening with Swish Fibre because Midhurst needs FTTP.
You’ll need to look somewhere else then. ex-Swish are not extending their network. None of the companies now in APFN are doing so. The capital funding for that has run out, and the focus is 110% on getting new signups in existing areas, and completing infill – although anecdotal evidence and LinkedIn “looking for work” postings suggests not much of that is happening either.
I could show you loads of abandoned assets in a half-built area.
As for this plan, my “sniff test” asks – with a supply chain is BT Openreach -> BT Wholesale -> APFN -> Cuckoo -> end user, where is the profit, given the low margins in telecomms?
The new prices are competitive – I had been on 500/70 via openreach until 3 weeks ago.
But they
– removed my static IPs (they had been free though)
– after complaining, did offer to reinstate them free for 12 m (decent)
– but weeks later had failed to do so or respond further
– worse they added CGNAT
– even worse they change routing which doubled my latency
– I had b/w issues with some sites which seemed throttled/constrained
Since moved to EE (BT) which technically is working great. Giganet still oblivious to this fact – see giganet forum on this site.
So I’d avoid personally.
I wonder if these issues will no longer persist since they are now selling under their name on wholesale going forwards?
Just switched to these guys going live October 1st, hope I haven’t dropped a bollock here I was not aware of their bad past.
I was one of those customers palmed off I joined aquiss and never looked back. Don’t touch afpn with a bargepole
Cuckoo has been very good at answering some technical questions: IPv4 only and no static IP. However, as they are not offering any minimum speed guarantee, I cannot see why anyone would willingly sign up for a £42pcm/ 2 year contract when there is no minimum speed protection. That said, I suspect that may people will do so on price alone. Not for me.
If the service were Significantly Not As Described and / or Not Fit For Purpose than a consumer could use their rights under the Consumer Rights Act to exit the contract.
Are Allpoints Fibre still building their network or has it scrapped that idea?
They’ve gone very quiet and they’re website offers very little information.
Maybe they’re just focusing on running Cuckoo, their ISP now?
Yeah I’m not going back to them.
Happy with CIX fttp.
Cuckoo even told me there customer service was taking a massive dive. The billing system they used was rubbish as well. I don’t miss them.