Oxfordshire-based alternative UK broadband network and ISP Zzoomm, which have built their 2Gbps Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network to cover 190,000 premises (RFS) in England, has revealed that their network has already achieved a take-up rate of 10% in the South Yorkshire town of Penistone – after only going live in March 2024.
The operator, which is being fuelled by an equity investment of £100m from Oaktree Capital (here) and a £100m debt facility via an international banking consortium (here), has typically focused their roll-out on smaller towns in parts Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Herefordshire, Yorkshire, Staffordshire, Wiltshire and Cheshire. But their deployment has recently suffered from a slow-down and job cuts (here and here).
The deployment in Penistone, which has a population of around 25,000, is a fairly recent development and the main reason for the strong take-up can be at least partly attributed to the fact that Zzoomm are likely to be the only gigabit-capable broadband provider available (Openreach only has a tiny bit of FTTP).
On the other hand, it’s currently unclear how much of the town Zzoomm actually covers, although the operator does indicate that the “majority of the build” is now complete (not clear if this covers the “majority” of the town). We should add that Northern Fibre, FullFibre Ltd and Quickline are also known to have plans for parts of the Penistone town or surrounding areas.
Chris Collinson, Chief Commercial Officer at Zzoomm, said:
“We’re excited to see such a significant number of Penistone residents joining Zzoomm in just the few weeks since completing the majority of the build. It’s evident that the residents and businesses of Penistone recognise the advantages of gigafast broadband and are embracing our investment in cutting-edge Full Fibre technology.”
We’re thrilled to foster innovation by providing access to our gigafast Full Fibre network to homes and businesses in Penistone. At Zzoomm, we firmly believe in ensuring that everyone has access to dependable, forward-thinking broadband services.”
Customers who take their residential service typically pay from £29.95 per month for an unlimited 150Mbps (symmetric speed) package on a 12-month term with an included router, which goes up to £54.95 (normally £64.95) if you want their top 2Gbps tier. The ISP is also offering a £100 Amazon gift card to new customers on some plans.