Alternative network operator and ISP Connect Fibre, which aims to cover 100,000 premises across the East of England with their gigabit-capable full fibre (FTTP) broadband network, has this morning announced that they will be the first UK internet provider to deploy TP-Link’s co-branded Wi-Fi 7 routers to customers. A new 2Gbps package is also being launched.
The provider, which is backed by investment from the Foresight Group (here), is currently rolling out their new open access (wholesale) full fibre network – using ADTRAN’s XGS-PON technology – across various locations in Essex, Staffordshire, Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire, Derbyshire, and Cambridgeshire. But up until now they’ve mostly been shipping Wi-Fi 6 capable routers from Linksys alongside their broadband packages.
The first big change today is that they’ve now teamed up with TP-Link to bundle the new co-branded HB610 and HB810 advanced Wi-Fi 7 routers alongside some of their broadband packages. “The new range delivers speeds of up to 4.8x faster and improves network capacity 5x versus previous Wi-Fi 6 technology,” although experiences over WiFi will always vary.
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In addition, Connect Fibre is also launching a new Wi-Fi 7 Connect Mesh add-on service powered by TP-Link’s HB210 Pro mesh node, which will offer “the UK’s best Wi-Fi mesh guarantee” of 120Mbps seamless, uninterrupted connectivity in every room (other providers will guarantee up to around a max of 30Mbps, although EE does push this to 100Mbps on their top package).
Customers choosing one of the new bundles will also enjoy improved bandwidth performance, with all plans, including a new 2Gbps (2000Mbps) package, available with equal upload and download speeds (symmetric). The announcement says this is “believed to be a UK first for a residential package“, although quite a few providers have 2Gbps or faster packages (e.g. Zzoomm, CommunityFibre, YouFibre, B4RN etc.). But the “first” in this case is because Connect Fibre are pledging to offer symmetrical speed guarantees on their new 2Gbps and 1Gbps packages (other guarantees usually only cover download speeds).
Deryck Shepherd, CCO of Connect Fibre, said:
“We know our customers are looking for improved connectivity. This partnership allows us to offer a range of Wi-Fi 7 products that will deliver seamless broadband in every corner of the home. This is immensely valuable as Wi-Fi 7 is the way forward for us and will play a pivotal role in delivering new multi-gigabit, and for the first time, residential services with symmetrical bandwidth guarantees.”
Take note that the WiFi 7 standard introduces various new features, such as using the extra 6GHz channel with 320MHz of channel bandwidth for much broader capacity (Wi-Fi 6E is 160MHz), as well as Multi Link Operation (MLO), which allows data to be sent over multiple bands simultaneously, and 4K QAM, which offers up to 20% increase in peak data transmission performance (plus other enhancements).
Finally, it’s noted that the new routers support TP-Link’s Aginet Unified Cloud (TAUC) solution, which is dedicated to simplifying operations and reducing costs over the ISP service lifecycle. “It offers comprehensive monitoring and remote troubleshooting support. The TAUC team works closely with ISPs, including Connect Fibre, to provide training to support teams to ensure they understand the benefits of the product range, and can troubleshoot any issues,” said the announcement.
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UPDATE 7:56am
Connect Fibre have clarified that the “UK first for a residential package” claim in their announcement actually relates to them being the first ISP to offer “symmetrical speed guarantees” (most other guarantees only extend to download speeds) on their new 1Gbps and 2Gbps tiers (not to be confused with the WiFi guarantee). We’ve updated this above.
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Promote your WiFi 7 router with a (bandwidth crippled-) WiFi 5 Nintendo Switch. Makes sense.
That’s TP-Links marketing lol
I see that the tp link kit “offers comprehensive monitoring and remote troubleshooting support” so it doesn’t look like you can use your own router. I wonder if these routers require you to “create an account” with tp link to manage them as some of their routers do. Great, someone else with my email address. Well, the one I use for this junk anyway, the one I never look at 🙂
It will be controlled by the ISP, so no need for another account. So no different to BT or any other ISP who can control and update your routers. i presume.
Tp-link does have a account of some sort if you want to use it called TP-Link ID, it allows remote control of the router from an App, I have not bothered with it myself on my Archer Ax58 as I have no need for remote control from an App
Yes, you can use your own router as long as you can configure it to use VLAN 101 and DHCP on the WAN port. Connect Fibre don’t provide technical support for 3rd party equipment. Seems fair to me.
https://www.connectfibre.co.uk/knowledge-base/how-to-use-your-own-router
The TP Link kit that I’ve seen on the 1Gb product is fine from a spec / performance point of view, but it is too dumbed down for power users.
I’m a Connect Fibre customer and using my own router (ASUS GT-AX6000). Just need to be able to configure a VLAN WAN connection on your router.