SHOPPERS passing through the Parade on Saturday were given their first exposure to the companies tasked with selling Swindon’s newest broadband service.

Superfast Swindon, a programme being delivered by the company UKB Networks (UKBN), aims to provide high speed internet access to 20,000 homes following a deal with Swindon Borough Council in 2014.

It uses 4G technology to send signals wirelessly from transmitters to be installed across Swindon to receivers attached to the outside wall of a property.

It is targeted at homes in areas where fibre broadband cabling has not yet been installed.

While UKBN will be providing the technology, they will not be selling it to customers directly – that task falls to five ‘reseller’ companies.

Nicholas James, CEO of UKBN, said: “This event is the first opportunity for the public to meet the re-sellers.

“Last week we enabled the first 6,000 homes so really this is the first event where we can tell the public that if they are one of those lucky 6,000 then they can sign up to receive the service.

“We are also able to be more specific about when we will reach the remaining areas.”

So far, the service has been installed in just under 50 homes - however 40 of those are free trial sites that provide an opportunity for quality control and testing.

That means that in the first week since sales began, less than ten households have signed on to the scheme.

Four of the five resellers were at the Parade on Saturday trying to change that – they were Relish, Swindon Wireless, Prestige and CCE.

Cotswold Wireless are also on board as resellers but were not at the event on Saturday.

Describing the role of the resellers, Bridget Lorimer, head of marketing at Relish, said: “We all have an equal opportunity to sell and we each offer a different range of packages.

“The main difference that Relish offers is that all of our products have unlimited data, we have no caps on usage.”

When challenged on the issue of future competition from bigger household names, Bridget made the point Superfast Swindon was brought in to provide a service in areas where the main providers of fibre broadband are not operating which removes the main competition factor.

Despite this claim, there are signs that companies, including BT, are already moving in to areas such as North Swindon which could create an imminent competition war where their name recognition will carry a significant advantage.

Anticipating this challenge, CCE have identified the rural market – where housing density makes a rollout of fibre unlikely – as their main focus.

Unlike Relish, they do not offer an unlimited data option – in fact only Prestige also provide that service.

There are a plethora of packages available between the resellers, ranging from £20 per month for a 100GB allowance on a 12 month minimum contract, to £46.75 for a package that includes a mobile SIM.

For more information and to check availability in your area you can visit www.superfastswindon.com