Alternative network operator and UK ISP Brsk has today announced that their roll-out of a new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network is being extended to include 60,000 premises across St Helens in Merseyside, and neighbouring Ashton-in-Makerfield in Wigan, Greater Manchester.
The operator – fuelled by an investment of at least £259m – is currently building out its new network across parts of West Yorkshire, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Cheshire, and the West Midlands (Birmingham and The Black Country). Some 28,000 customers (1st Mar 2024) already use the service, which has so far covered 552,000 premises passed (536,000 as Ready for Service, which is up from 486k RFS on 30th Apr 2024).
Residential customers typically pay from £23 per month for a 100Mbps (symmetric) package and this rises up to £32 for their top 900Mbps tier on a 24-month term, which includes a router and free installation.
Ian Kock, Brsk’s Chief Operating Officer, said:
“Quite frankly, we think it’s criminal that so many residents have had to suffer with slow, expensive broadband for so long. Not to mention, the extremely poor customer service that comes with it. Luckily, we’re on the case. We look forward to bringing broadband the way it should be experienced. Fast, affordable and fair – nothing less.”
In terms of local gigabit-capable competition. Openreach’s new FTTP network already covers most of St Helens and a little bit of Ashton, while Virgin Media (inc. nexfibre) is widely available across both locations, except for a sizeable business park or two. As for altnets, the only other provider with any presence is Grain in a patch of St Helens. CityFibre began working in the same location during 2022, but so far we’ve yet to see much live coverage.