“There are lots of headlines about building even faster networks in the future, exciting media campaigns from the larger players, but generally a lack of easy to understand information about Fibre Optic Broadband services available today. We are concerned that in combination this is slowing the uptake of faster services that are available to about 50% of premises in the UK today,” stated Andrew Saunders, Head of Product Management and Marketing.
To boost the uptake of Fibre Optic Broadband, Zen has announced it is offering both new and existing customers free installation on its Fibre Optic Broadband services from 7th January 2013 to 31st March 2013. “We recognise that although today’s fibre based services are typically 8 – 10 times faster than traditional broadband, the cost of installation for Fibre Optic Broadband may be a barrier to many customers. So we have taken the bold step of introducing a special offer that removes this cost,” continued Saunders.
This offer from Zen makes it even easier for new and existing customers to access Zen’s award-winning Fibre Optic Broadband services, Zen is offering free installation subject to a 24 month contract.
Fibre Optic Broadband based on Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) technology that offers download speeds of “up to 76Mbps” and upload speeds of “up to 19Mbps” is now available to about 50% of UK premises. Typically customers experience download speeds of around 60Mbps with this form of Fibre Optic Broadband.
“We believe that we have the strongest portfolio of Fibre Optic Broadband products in the UK, having worked with BT since the initial fibre optic broadband trials. We have hands-on experience of the technology that other providers cannot match, and the latest, most up-to-date information on progress and future plans,” added Saunders.
Fibre Optic Broadband is fast, reliable, affordable and already widely available with more being deployed every month. Since Zen first introduced its Fibre Optic Broadband services in the autumn of 2010 its services have gone from strength to strength. However recent industry figures suggest that where superfast broadband has already been made available in the UK, only 13% of customers have actually taken it up, whereas Zen’s own customer take-up rate stands at 18%.
Zen provides a range of FTTC based services with a choice of download speeds of up to 38Mbps or up to 76Mbps with customers typically experiencing download of speeds of 30Mbps and 60Mbps respectively. Findings from recent surveys undertaken by Zen showed that actual speeds were met or exceeded for 92% of its customers, plus in terms of ease of set-up and reliability the service was consistently rated between 88% and 90%. However, most importantly 94% of customers would recommend Zen’s Fibre Optic Broadband to a friend or colleague.
With a range of phone line products also available, customers can use Zen for both talking and surfing and only have to deal with one supplier, saving both time and money. Customers can now consolidate their broadband and phone line supplier, providing a one-stop-shop, with monthly phone line rental from only £11.22.
Both Zen’s Broadband and Voice services come with an award winning reputation. It has regularly continued to receive a number of awards including Which? Recommended Broadband Provider, Zen’s fourteenth Which? endorsement in eight years and this year awarded Which? Recommended Home Phone Provider for the very first time. Also this year Zen was awarded PC Advisor’s Best ISP for the first time and PC Pro Best ISP for the ninth year running.
Customers can check what broadband and Fibre Optic Broadband services are available to them at
http://www.zen.co.uk/availability-check/. The results provided are estimates of what speed the line is capable of supporting and are based on line length and quality. The actual speeds experienced can vary depending on the time of day, contention and the use of wireless networking.
FTTC describes a broadband service where a fibre cable runs from a BT exchange to a street cabinet that contains the Broadband equipment. From here it is linked to homes via just the last few hundred metres of existing copper cable. Because all but the last few hundred metres of the connection is based fibre optic, FTTC services are much faster and more reliable than traditional broadband services that use copper cable distances of a couple or more kilometres.