Yayzi ushers in the UK's multi-gig broadband era

The offering runs on CityFibre's XGS-PON network. Launched to wholesale customers last July, it is capable of supporting symmetric throughput of up to 10 Gbps.

This is quite a coup for Yayzi, because while it's true that Virgin Media O2 has begun selling XGS-PON services to select customers within its footprint, it doesn't appear to be offering these customers the option to take out a multi-gig service. The fastest broadband package advertised on its Website stands at 1.13 Gbps.

And as for BT's semi-autonomous networks arm Openreach, it doesn't currently offer XGS-PON services at all. The fastest speed on offer from the incumbent is 1 Gbps download/220 Mbps upload.

Meanwhile, CityFibre customer Vodafone has been extensively trialling XGS-PON, and plans to launch a 2.2-Gbps consumer service early this year.

"We are very excited about this innovative move and seeing very high uptake of pre orders and interest for these products," said Yayzi chief exec Martin Gardner. "The team at Yayzi have now set the standard in the UK ISP market with our partners at CityFibre and made stupidly fast broadband affordable for the consumer."

Indeed, while £50 per month plus a £99 setup fee isn't exactly a bargain-basement price, it certainly is competitive, and comes with a fixed-price guarantee that runs for three years.

In comparison, VMO2's Gig1 fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) service starts at £45 per month on an 18-month contract, and rises to £73 once the contract expires. BT's top-end, Full Fibre 900-Mbps service starts at £52.99 per month, rising to £57.99 from March. Incidentally, 900 Mbps is the slowest service on offer from Yayzi, and costs £35 per month.

Anyway, in return for their money, Yayzi customers get unlimited data and a TP-LINK 2.5-Gb capable router with 2.5-Gb WAN and 2.5-Gb LAN ports. It also offers a minimum speed guarantee of 2 Gbps albeit over a wired connection.

Yayzi isn't testing the waters with a limited rollout for select customers in a tiny corner of the country either – this is a fully-fledged launch.

It has opted for CityFibre's National Access product, so its multi-gig service is available across CityFibre's entire XGS-PON network, which has already been rolled out to 90 percent of its fibre exchanges.

"We're delighted Yayzi is set to bring their 2.5-Gbps product to market over the CityFibre network. While many still believe that these speeds are too fast for consumers, data from around the world shows that multi-gig services are gaining traction fast," said CityFibre's chief marketing officer Dan Ramsay. "Three million UK homes will now have access to multi-gig speeds from CityFibre and we're confident that we'll see interest and take-up grow rapidly in the years to come.”

Of course, all this will be for nothing if Yayzi doesn't build the commercial momentum it needs to run a profitable business. Also, there is a world of difference between launching a broadband service and consistently delivering good customer service. It has nonetheless laid down something resembling a gauntlet for the UK's other providers.