Original article ISPreview UK:Read More
National network operator Openreach (BT) has this afternoon published pricing details for their forthcoming pilot of XGS-PON based Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) home broadband ISP lines, which now includes the 5.5Gbps (550Mbps upload) and 8.5Gbps (850Mbps upload) tiers. The launch date for the pilot has also been put back slightly from 1st to 23rd March 2026.
As previously reported (here, here, here, here and here), Openreach are currently in the final stages of preparing to launch their first customer pilot of faster 10Gbps capable XGS-PON based full fibre technology with UK broadband ISPs (Passive Optical Network – the ‘X’ stands for 10, the ‘G’ for Gigabits’ and the ‘S’ for Symmetric speed). EE (BT) are currently the only retail ISP to have confirmed their involvement.
The new technology, which many of Openreach’s rivals are already using, will go beyond today’s top download speeds of 1.8Gbps on their GPON full fibre network and push up to 8.5Gbps. But until today the initial pilot announcement had so far only provided pricing details for symmetric speeds of up to 3.3Gbps.
The latest briefing adds pricing details for their two fastest consumer focused download tiers – 5.5Gbps (550Mbps upload) and 8.5Gbps (850Mbps upload). Take note that they will also offer a symmetric speed variety of these tiers, although that’s likely to cost extra and be targeted at premium (business) connections. The briefing also confirms changes to pilot connection charges applicable from 1st April 2026.
Openreach XGS-PON Pilot Pricing
| Connection charges, excl. VAT (All bandwidths) | Pilot Charge Operative: 23/03/2026 – 31/03/2026 |
Pilot Charge Operative: 01/04/2026 |
| Standard Connection | £122.84 | £127.26 |
| Premium Connection | £152.84 | £158.34 |
| Advanced Connection | £297.84 | £308.56 |
| Standard Connection – XGS Box Swap | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| Proactive FTTP Upgrades – Standard Connection | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| Proactive FTTP Upgrades – Premium Connection | £30.00 | £31.08 |
| Proactive FTTP Upgrades – Advanced Connection | £175.00 | £181.30 |
Rental Charges
| XGS-PON Pilot (annual rental) | Pilot Charge Operative: 23/03/2026 – 31/03/2026 |
Pilot Charge Operative: 01/04/2026 |
| Up to 3300/330 Mbit/s | £324.00 | £324.00 |
| Up to 3300/3300 Mbit/s | £360.00 | £360.00 |
| Up to 5500/550 Mbit/s | £420.00 | £420.00 |
| Up to 8500/850 Mbit/s | £480.00 | £480.00 |
Readers should remember that Openreach’s pricing only reflects the wholesale cost of the line, while retail ISPs still have to add all sorts of extra costs on top before getting to the price you pay (e.g. 20% VAT, network/service features, general costs/support, profit margin etc.). Existing FTTP customers taking one of these new tiers will also require another engineer visit to install a 10Gbps capable Optical Network Terminal (ONT).
Openreach has previously informed ISPreview that their pilot would initially begin across an area of 40,000 premises in Guildford, although this could still be expanded. The classic catch with packages this fast is that most consumers would struggle to fully harness those top speeds, usually due to various Wi-Fi/device limits and any limitations of the online servers you’re connecting to (Why Buying Gigabit Broadband Doesn’t Always Deliver).
One other issue to consider is that it often takes time for retail broadband providers and their suppliers to upgrade their network capacity in order to support such tiers, so even once launched (commercially) it may be a while before adoption improves. Finally, pilot pricing and product details should always be considered tentative (subject to change).