We recently reported that UK ISP Andrews & Arnold (AAISP) has almost completed a major network upgrade (here), which will allow it to launch fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP)-based broadband plans faster (the Openreach platform). The good news is that they are now live, a little earlier than expected.
Previously the fastest FTTP broadband package you could get from AAISP was their 160Mbps tier (30Mbps download), but recent upgrades mean they are now able to offer access up to the top 1000 Mbps tier of Openreach (this network currently covers 6.4 million premises in the UK). The ISP has yet to make an official announcement on this, but it’s definitely live on their ordering system (originally we were expecting it in April).
New customers of this service will receive a base usage allowance of 500GB (GigaBytes), which can be increased to 5000GB (5TB) if you pay an additional £10 per month. The package includes a minimum contract term of 12 months, a static IP address (IPv4/v6) and incurs a setup fee of £100, plus a router postage charge of £4.99.
The ISP also groups together in a Technicolor DGA0122 router, though we think they missed an opportunity here to ship a more modern WiFi 6-enabled device alongside the faster packages.
FTTP packages for Andrews and Arnold’s home
115Mbps (20Mbps download) – £37 per month
160Mbps (30Mbps) – £45
330Mbps (50Mbps) – £55
550Mbps (75Mbps) – £65
1000Mbps (115Mbps) – £75
At this point, some readers often lament that AAISP does not offer “unlimited” data usage on their plans, which makes them somewhat odd in the market. But that’s largely because they’ve always been more professional ISPs who focus on quality of service, as well as customer support that actually knows IT and makes sure their network never runs out of capacity.
Suffice it to say, the above is a big part of why they are one of the highest rated ISPs out there, but also one of the smallest. You don’t have to like the way they do things to still be able to appreciate that they offer a different, yet perfectly valid choice with various positives. Let’s not forget that a usage limit of 5000 GB, when taken as an option, is far more than even many heavy broadband users would consume in a month.
