Broadband ISP Grain Extends UK Full Fibre Network into Ashington

Alternative network operator Grain (Grain Connect) has announced that they’re expanding their gigabit speed Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) based broadband network into the town of Ashington in Northumberland (England). The operator’s network currently reaches 220,000 UK premises RFS (21st May 2024) and has already connected 30,000 customers.

The local roll-out in the town, which ultimately aims to reach “thousands of homes” (we don’t get anything more specific than that), is currently entering the construction phase. After that, the “first customers” are then due to be connected sometime during “early 2025“, although it’s unclear how long the build itself will take to reach completion.

Grain’s decision to expand into Ashington is not totally unexpected, as they already have a limited deployment in nearby Blyth. On the other hand, the altnet will face some competition, not least from the well-established and wide coverage of existing gigabit-capable broadband networks via Openreach and Virgin Media (nexfibre). Some smaller providers, like Fibrenest, also have a very limited presence in the town.

Richard Cameron, Grain’s CEO, said:

“We’re not just delivering faster internet; we are also saving customers a significant amount on their monthly broadband bill. Whether you’re streaming your favourite shows, working from home or gaming, we’re helping to build a more connected Ashington.”

The ISP is celebrating this expansion with some exclusive offers for early birds in the town. Locals will be able to sign up for their 150Mbps package this November for just £19.99 per month, with the first 3 months of service being offered at half price (£9.99). Customers will also get free installation.

The operator’s full fibre network can also be found in parts of 59 other UK locations (plus over 150 new build housing developments), which includes a lot of small-to-modest sized patches of various urban cities and towns like Leicester, Liverpool, Accrington, Grimsby, Cleethorpes, Scarborough, Carlisle, Barrow-in-Furness, Hartlepool, Hull, Newport, Sunderland, Blackburn and so forth.