KC (internet service provider)
 | |
| Company type | Trading name |
|---|---|
| Industry | ISP |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Headquarters | Kingston upon Hull, UK |
| Parent | KCOM Group |
| Website | www |
KC, formerly Karoo, is an internet service provider in the United Kingdom. Formed in 1996 by Kingston Communications, a subsidiary of the KCOM Group, it primarily serves consumers in Kingston upon Hull and the surrounding area with its head office based in the city.
Hull has remained an exception within the UK telephone network, being the only place in the UK not served by BT and is noted for its distinctive cream coloured telephone boxes and innovative services.
Service history
Before the introduction of unmetered, '0800' dialup Internet access and broadband, Karoo was one of the first ISPs in the country to offer untimed Internet calls. It followed on from the success of Demon Internet's Point of Presence (PoP) in Hull. This was set up with the initial formation of Demon in June 1992. Demon allowed users in Hull to make untimed 5.5p+vat calls to access the Internet via dialup accounts. Karoo followed on a few years after Demon removed their local PoP. Karoo Xtra allowed Kingston Communications customers 7 hours untimed access for the price of a 5.5p (+ VAT) call charge (and a subscription fee of £15 per month).[citation needed]
This led to Hull gaining a reputation for being a so-called digital city, a reputation which still holds true with Hull being in the top 16 digital clusters in the UK according to Tech City's Tech Nation report.
Current services
Currently, KC provides ADSL, VDSL and FTTH broadband services to customers within the Hull and East Riding region with a KC residential line only.
As of November 2014, KC offers four main ADSL 2+ bundles[1] offering up to 24Mbit/s downstream and 1Mbit/s upstream connection along with varying call packages. All bundles include free local (to other KC users) calls. KC also offer a low-cost, entry-level bundle with a 8GB usage allowance, though no calls are included in this package.
KC provides web space and POP3 email services with all packages and bundles except "KC Lite".[1]
In September 2011, the company began a six-month trial of a 100 Mbit/s service in the East Riding of Yorkshire village of Woodmansey. Around 300 homes were involved in the trial.[2] The trial was part of a plan to roll out increased speeds to more than 15,000 homes across the East Riding of Yorkshire. The service is now available for up to 45,000 properties with a further 60,000, bringing the total fibre network to 105,000 properties by 2017.[3]
As of February 2008 Karoo Broadband had approximately 81,400 subscribers.[4]
KC's Fibre to the premises product, Lightstream, requires a new fibre-optic cable be laid to each premises that is terminated inside the home in an ONT. A router is then plugged into the ONT to distribute the service throughout the home. As of April 2015, the service offers up to 250mbps downstream bandwidth.[1]
Criticism
Karoo suffered criticism in 2009 for disconnecting users on illegal downloading accusations.[5] However Karoo have since revised their policy, now operating a "three strikes rule", whereby a suspected file sharer will receive three written warnings before being disconnected.[6]
Hull City A.F.C. sponsorship
Karoo was the home shirt sponsor of Premier League team Hull City A.F.C. from 2007 to 2009. Parent company Kingston Communications sponsors the stadium.
References
- ^ a b c "High-speed, reliable broadband". KC. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
- ^ France, Paul (20 September 2011). "KC 100Mbps fibre broadband trial to involve up to 280 homes". Cable.co.uk. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
- ^ "KC Bringing Fibre Optic Broadband to 105,000 Hull UK Premises". ISP Review. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
- ^ "KCOM Group PLC Interim Report 2007/2008" (PDF).
- ^ "UK ISP Cuts Off Alleged Pirates". TorrentFreak. 24 July 2009. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
- ^ "Plug-pulling ISP changes policy". BBC News. 24 July 2009. Retrieved 1 August 2013.