Three UK Closes Down Old Relish Wireless Broadband in Swindon

Mobile operator Three UK has notified the remaining customers still on their old Relish Wireless (Three Broadband) service in Swindon (Wiltshire, England), which was originally acquired from UK Broadband Limited in 2017 (here), that it is finally due to be retired by the end of May 2025. But the news came as a surprise to some users.

At present only a tiny number of customers (Three UK puts the figure at 43) continue to use the old 4G based fixed wireless service. But some of those were recently taken by surprise when the operator emailed them at the start of this week to say that “due to technical changes your current Home Broadband service will now end on 19th May 2025“.

Three claims to have previously emailed customers to notify them of their intention to close the service in May 2025, although the user we spoke to (Paul) said they had not received the prior communication and have thus been given just two weeks’ notice. The latest email also contained no guidance with respect to any alternative service options or promotions, which Three told ISPreview do exist.

We note that Relish/Three have never increased their monthly charge for the service in Swindon, which is still priced at £25 per month for a 30Mbps+ internet connection.

Three’s Customer Email (6th May 2025)

Hi,

We have previously contacted you about your current broadband service ending in May. Due to technical changes your current Home Broadband service will now end on 19 May 2025. Prior to this date you will notice loss of service from approximately, 13-15 May 2025 due to a power outage.

Providing a great service to our customers is important to us, so we would like to apologise in advance and acknowledge that this unavoidable situation isn’t ideal.

If you wish to disconnect your Home Broadband service now with no termination charges, or have any questions, please contact us on 0330 686 6003.

If no action is taken, your service will be lost once the technical changes are made.

Regards,

Customer Care Team

Three Broadband

However, when queried, Three apologised for the “inconvenience” of their closure and informed Paul, who has been using the service since 2016, that he did have the “option to cancel this service with immediate effect and move to our parent company Three UK“. But the operator continued to provide no details on what alternatives exist and any special offers.

Three has since confirmed to ISPreview that the retirement is part of their transition to 5G and they will be upgrading the majority of affected customers to an enhanced 5G service, which is probably something they could have made a bit clearer in their email. The full transition is expected to be completed by the end of this month.

During any transition period there can be disruption to services, and to compensate for this, Three UK said it had pledged 3 months free broadband and offered to install a new antenna. None of that was mentioned in the two emails we saw from the operator.

Finally, Three said they had engaged with the Swindon Borough Council to ensure local support and minimise any disruption, while the UK government has also been made aware of the transition. The latter is probably because the original wireless network was partly installed using public investment via the Building Digital UK (BDUK) agency.

A quick look at the 5G powered unlimited Three Home Broadband package on the operator’s website shows that it’s currently priced at just £19 per month on a 24-month term, albeit rising to £21 from Apr 2026 and then £23 from April 2027. This includes an Outdoor Hub and “average download speeds of 150Mbps“, albeit alongside a 30-day money-back guarantee.

One possible catch above is that the service was listed as unavailable for a number of the postcodes we tested in Swindon (e.g. you could get it in SN3 3TQ, but not SN1 4HR or SN1 2AN), thus local availability may be sporadic.