TalkTalk has yet to share the pricing model for the fibre broadband service it plans to launch in York later this year, but comments made by the U.K. telco at Connected Britain on Wednesday suggest it is not planning to launch a premium cost offer.
"Price really matters," said Richard Sinclair, ultrafast general manager, at TalkTalk. People have the perception that fibre broadband services are expensive, but TalkTalk’s goal is around democratising technology and enabling "all Britain to have access to this technology," he said.
Sinclair declined to provide further details at this stage though. "We’ll be saying more about that this summer," he said.
TalkTalk recently announced that it will offer fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) services in York under the UltraFibreOptic, or UFO, brand. It is jointly rolling out an alternative fibre infrastructure in the city in conjunction with CityFibre and Sky, but will compete with Sky on the retail level. Customers will be able to achieve broadband speeds of up to 1 Gbps.
"1 Gig will make connectivity like electricity," said Sinclair. "The device will become the constraint rather than the broadband network."
It is unusual for a telecoms network operator to embrace the idea that connectivity is becoming a utility, but TalkTalk views that as a positive thing.
When a consumer acquires a new electronic appliance, they never need to ask themselves "is there enough power?" when they plug it in, Sinclair explained. "That should be the same for broadband," he said.
TalkTalk also notes that it can roll out FTTP without causing too much disruption in terms of civil works.
In York the firm is using a micro-trencher, which can dig smaller and more precise holes in which to lay the fibre, and because it is a compact unit it can do this on a pavement, rather than by digging up the road.
We can start work in the morning, "dig a street, lay the fibre and backfill before the residents come home," Sinclair said.
