Posted: 29th Jun, 2011 By: MarkJ
Internet and mobile operator O2 UK has mirrored yesterdays comments by its sibling ISP Be Broadband (
here) and announced plans to
launch a commercial superfast fibre broadband trial "
later this year".
O2's Head of Home and Broadband, Felix Geyr, said:
"While I can’t give too many details of the service at this stage we want to ensure that we will provide the right customer experience in place before we go live. As a result we are currently looking at the infrastructure and where in the UK we run the trial.
What we are determined to do is offer a service that has all the things you love about our existing LLU broadband packages – great service and support and of course super fast speeds. The fine tuning of the packages, including pricing, is currently being decided and I will update you over the coming months when we have more detail.
As a result our current planning is for a service to be available later this year. Nearer the time we will launch a pre-registration programme, prioritising our existing customers first."
Unlike BE, which is to focus on a popular but costly "
unlimited" service, O2 is more likely to adopt a balanced solution that keeps affordability firmly in mind (i.e. expect a stricter Fair Usage Policy).
O2's "
fibre" service is also marketing speak for BT's 'up to' 40Mbps
Fibre-to-the-Cabinet ( FTTC ) product, which is currently being rolled out around the UK and should reach at least 66% of homes by 2015.
Both O2 and BE are likely to face stiff competition as BT , PlusNet and most recently even TalkTalk now appear to have an increasingly affordable range of 40Mbps FTTC services on offer.