A new network is revolutionising York city centre homes and businesses by delivering super-fast speeds to what was once a broadband blackspot.
While residents and visitors adore York’s heritage, that same history has kept internet speeds in the dark ages.
No one wanted to see our ancient streets dug up for new cabling. But this left many businesses and homes within the city walls struggling with copper-wire broadband speeds that are too slow for modern life.
Now that is changing, as City of York Council has partnered with UK Fibre Networks to bring lightning-fast full-fibre speeds of up to 900 Mbps to the heart of town.
And it couldn’t come soon enough for many, said Pete Evans, UK Fibre Networks director.
“The average York city centre business was getting less than 10 Mbps. At busy times that could slow to 4 to 6 Mbps,” he said.
“It means all the card readers needed for transactions struggle to connect.
“In hospitality businesses, it is standard to offer wi-fi to customers – but many can’t.
“And we spoke to one office-based business who said they lost a potential contract because their video call kept dropping.”
City centre residents, meanwhile, were left with TV streaming services that can buffer to a standstill, and too poor a connection to work from home efficiently.
Deal details
- Prices start at £25.99 a month for residents and £29.99 for businesses
- Customers can chose from broadband only, or broadband and phone
- Find out more on the UK Fibre Networks website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Tech support
So how has this York broadband riddle been solved? Working with the council, UK Fibre Networks has access to a full fibre connection at a hub on Swinegate.
From there they can run the cables to homes and businesses across buildings, often using existing fixings like those for the city’s Christmas lights.
This new network can now reach 1,000 city centre properties, and it is soon set to be extended to 6,000 within the city walls.
For those already connected, the speed boost has been transformational, said Pete. And he wants to get the word out to more city centre residents and businesses that they no longer have to endure slow broadband.
“We’re York’s best-kept secret!” he said.
“Nowhere else can offer anywhere near what we can, in terms of ultra-fast broadband and a personal service.
“We are based in York, we have a network which matches or beats all-comers in terms of its resilience, we have a technical support team ready to help at the end of the phone – and there are no installation fees.”
The word is starting to spread: UK Fibre Networks will have increased its customer base by 50% by the end of May, he says.
“It’s a new network, it’s been built correctly – and the speeds mean everyone’s really happy with it,” he said.