Around 15,000 homes and businesses in Hull and East Yorkshire could have access to one of the fastest broadband connections in the UK, following the launch KC's new 100Mbps fibre service.
The fibre rollout is the result of a multi-million pound investment by KC, the retail ISP arm of Hull-based company KCom. Formerly known as Kingston Communications, KCom was the only British municipal telephone companies not the be adsorbed into the Post Office Telephone department (which later became BT) during the first half of the Twentieth Century.
Hull is now the only place in the UK not served by BT, as KC has a monopoly in the area. KCom was successfully floated on the stock market in 1999, raising £225 million for Hull City Council.
KC will deliver broadband using fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP), which means that fibre is connected directly to a customer’s home or business. According to KC, this is a lot faster than BT’s method of deploying fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC), where fibre is laid to street cabinets and existing copper cables used to complete the connection to customers’ premises.
“Our commitment to using the best fibre technology the world can offer means we’re giving our customers a Rolls-Royce service at a price that offers incredible value for money,” said KC’s chief executive Kevin Walsh.
“We’re offering fibre for a fiver – for about £5 more per month than our most popular traditional copper broadband and phone bundle, customers can have lightning fast speeds that will transform their online experience.”
Fibre installations will take place in parts of east and west Hull, as well as to the north of Hull, in Beverley and across several East Yorkshire villages. Residents can sign up for one of KC's six Lightstream broadband packages, which offer download speeds ranging from 45Mbps to 100Mbps, starting at £25 per month.
KC has also introduced four KC Lightstream Business broadband packages that range in price from £25 to £100 per month, depending on the speed, download allowance and level of service and support required.
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“This investment is the start of something very special for our region that we at KC are immensely proud of, and which I hope will make local people proud too,” added Walsh.
“At its heart our fibre roll-out is an investment in the future of Hull and East Yorkshire, a catalyst for change that has the potential to transform the region’s fortunes and make us an attractive location for further public and private sector investment.”
Last month, BT announced plans to expand its fibre network in Scotland, bringing superfast broadband to 277,000 homes and businesses in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow. The network will combine FTTC and FTTP, and is part of the £2.5bn investment in next-generation broadband being made by the telecoms company.
Meanwhile, the government has pledged £530 million to support the roll-out of superfast broadband to the third of UK homes and businesses that would otherwise miss out, and has also revealed plans to invest a further £100 million to create a number of 'super-connected' cities in the UK where residents and firms can access speeds of between 80 and 100Mbps.
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