Original article ISPreview UK:Read More
Network operator Freedom Fibre, which has so far grown their FTTP (XGS-PON) based gigabit broadband network to cover 350,000 premises across various parts of England and North Wales, has today made a new 160Mbps and faster 2.5Gbps (2500Mbps) tier available to their broadband ISP partners at wholesale.
The new speed options will join their existing 550Mbps and 1Gbps packages, which are already available from Freedom Fibre’s retail ISP partners (e.g. TalkTalk, iDNET, Aquiss, Zen Internet, Home Telecom and more). The move is expressed as being a “direct response to increasing market demand for greater flexibility and value in broadband services,” while also making the service easier to align with ISPs that harness similar tiers from Openreach, CityFibre and others.
The network operator has so far deployed their Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network to cover 350,000 premises (inc. 24,000 customers connected) across the UK (part of their original aspiration to reach 1 million premises by 2030), mostly via commercial investment. But they have recently suffered some setbacks after scaling back and withdrawing from two of the government’s Project Gigabit contracts for Shropshire and Cheshire (here and here).
Lee Sutch, Head of B2B at Freedom Fibre, said:
“I’m delighted to expand our consumer offering with these two new services, launched in direct response to valuable partner feedback. Our partners asked us to deliver on two fronts: more competitive, price-sensitive options, and products that go beyond the traditional 1Gbps service to meet the needs of high-bandwidth users. These additions open new opportunities for more customers to enjoy the Freedom Fibre network.”
Naturally, it’s up to their retail ISP partners to choose whether or when they adopt the new tiers and how they set the final pricing.