Broadband provider XILO UK (uno Broadband) has quietly revealed the pre-launch pricing for its forthcoming range of next generation Fibre-to-the-Cabinet ( FTTC ) / fibre optic based 'up to' 40Mbps HOME broadband ISP packages, with prices starting from £27.90 inc. VAT per month.

The packages are not yet available from XILO's website, although that will soon change. Each of the two HOME options that we have listed below (business packages are also available) come with a standard 12 month contract and a discounted one-off activation fee (includes FREE VDSL modem and engineer install) of £44.65 until 31st December 2010, when it will rise to £91.65.

Xilo's Home FTTC Package Prices
Home - Peak Hours, 8am-12am Mon-Fri

8Mbps Assured Rate Included as standard (minimum speed you can expect)

Home 25
Usage allowance 25GB Peak - 200GB FUP Off Peak
Up to 40Mb download speed
Up to 2Mb upload £27.90 per month
-or-
Up to 10Mb upload £28.90 per month

Home 50
Usage allowance 50GB Peak - 200GB FUP Off Peak
Up to 40Mb download speed
Up to 2Mb upload £33.90 per month
-or-
Up to 10Mb upload £35.50 per month

As with past FTTC package launches, it's worth comparing XILO's HOME 25 service against some of their closest competition to see where they fit in the market. We would remind readers that XILO has not yet revealed full package details.

Example 1: IDNet - Home Plus Fibre - £27.99 per month
Download Speed: up to 40Mbps
Upload Speed: up to 10Mbps
Download Cap: 30GB Peak + 90GB Offpeak (120GB) / month
Upload Allowance: Unlimited
Traffic Priority: No
Blog/Web/Gallery Space: 1GB
Installation: £47
Contract: 12 Months

Example 2: Fast.co.uk FTTC-45GB - £26.99 per month
Download Speed: up to 40Mbps
Upload Speed: up to 10Mbps
Download Cap: 45GB / month
Installation: £51.70
Contract: 12 Months

Each of the packages appear to be quite well balanced in their own unique way, which is what you'd expect from a new generation of standardised BT Wholsale services. However we expect that XILO's ample off-peak hours might prove to be more attractive for heavy downloader's who like to queue their transfers for later at night.

It's of course no surprise to find that XILO, like every other ISP so far, has not been able to undercut the pricing for BT's rival BT-Infinity package. This is especially true in light of the recent £7.49 per month offer with free bundled phone calls (full details). The next ISP to reveal FTTC based service details is expected to be Zen Internet in September.