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Birmingham Post
Birmingham Post
Technology
David Laister

KCom removes data caps for Christmas as communities get festive via fibre

Father Christmas has arrived early with a full fibre Christmas present from the region’s leading broadband provider.

KCom is pausing its data caps across the network from today until January 9, allowing 7,000 customers on controlled tariffs to stream, surf and download without a worry over the festive period.

It comes as the business accelerates into 2023 with its full fibre future strategy at the forefront. The year will see the start of a £17 million switchover of 170,000 phone customers from copper.

Read more: KCom chief outlines £17m copper to fibre switch looming for 170,000 phone customers

Neil Bartholomew, KCom’s retail managing director, said: “After what has been another challenging year for many people, we want everybody to be able to enjoy themselves this Christmas; that’s why we’re removing the data caps for everybody.

“That means everyone will be able to stream the latest Christmas specials from Netflix and Amazon, enjoy playing all day on their new game consoles, stream endless Christmas party songs and keep in touch with relatives all over the world online without any worries about going over their caps.

“And because services such as Netflix, Amazon and YouTube are all cached locally on our KCom servers, it means there will be no buffering or delays when millions across the country are all trying to watch the must-see shows this winter.”

It is not the first time the Hull-headquartered giant has paused data caps to help its customers during challenging times. The award-winning firm cancelled caps to help people working and schooling from home during the Covid pandemic and also during Christmas 2020. This year, the broadband provider has also expanded its Flex social tariff to make ultrafast full fibre broadband accessible for people on benefits.

Quickline team members Jackie Lau, left, and Ian Wadsworth, right, surprise Andrew Stagg with a Gold Q - six months of free broadband as part of the Twelve Days of Quickmas campaign. (Quickline)

Staff within the business have also been busy this month with three local good causes to help make Christmas more special for local people. As well as providing 80 presents for Hull and East Yorkshire Children’s University’s Breakfast with Santa Scheme and its Warm Hugs initiative for kids in foster care, the company is also supporting a series of festive get-togethers for Age UK Hull. Volunteers from KCom are also supporting three food banks in Hull, East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire for families struggling to make ends meet.

Fellow East Yorkshire operator Quickline also launched a 12 Days of Quickmas campaign with prizes and giveaways after an exceptional year of growth that saw it take on a new headquarters in Willerby. The rural broadband specialist is celebrating connecting more than 2,000 remote communities in 2022, ensuring areas are not left behind. And it is doing the same with Christmas too, with tree and decoration donations and food bank parcels alongside customer treats.

Julian Chalk, head of network engagement and enablement at Quickline, said: “Christmas is a season for giving back and sharing festive cheer, so this year that’s exactly what we’re doing.

“Our teams will be out and about across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire surprising some of our customers with special prizes.”

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