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What is KCOM? Offers, Packages, & Customer Service

What is KCOM? Offers, Packages, & Customer Service

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Last update: May 29, 2023
Roams UK
Author: Roams UK

This Kingston upon Hull-based provider of IT and communications services was founded in 1904! It’s famous for having cream-coloured public telephone boxes rather than the traditional red everywhere else. KCOM has changed its name and services a number of times over those years, remaining somewhat geographically limited. Let’s look at what KCOM offers, and whether it might benefit you.

Is KCOM reliable?

KCOM is an enterprise with over a hundred years of history and experience. Such long-lasting companies must of necessity be stable and focussed, with good people at the helm, responsive to markets and changing customer needs.

Nowadays, KCOM is almost the sole provider of broadband in Beverley, Cottingham, and Hull. KCOM’s fibre doesn’t stop at street cabinets as is the norm. Its Lightstream product takes fibre-optic cables directly into homes, ensuring speed and reliability. In Hull it created the first ‘full fibre’ UK city, the cheapest, and fastest.


KCOM speed

Recent research based on Ofcom data shows KCOM has the fastest, and most improved, UK broadband speed. It enhanced its delivery rate from 76.5 megabits per second (Mbit/s) to 131.4 Mbit/s in just one year.

KCOM is expanding services across the East Riding of Yorkshire, where it will compete with other providers. Other UK counties must surely hope KCOM expands ever further afield.


KCOM Problems

Two key difficulties with KCOM have already been identified:

  1. Until KCOM expands beyond East Yorkshire, its excellence in terms of speed and reliability will benefit only a small proportion of the UK population.
  2. Customers within the original KCOM region cannot, if they’re unhappy with the service or can’t get installation because of their property circumstances, choose from many alternatives. They can buy from mobile or satellite broadband providers, or companies such as Giganet or Wisper, but all may present problems of speed, expense, data caps, or reliability, because they don’t have the reach and infrastructure of KCOM there.

The good news for those who can or must use KCOM is that they are rated Good or Very Good to Excellent on such metrics as Customer Support, Reliability, Speed, and Value For Money. Packages come complete with email addresses, and free spam filters and web space.

On the other hand, users of Home Lite or business broadband packages must pay an activation fee, and no parental controls are available. There’s also a network restriction related to monopoly: customers can subscribe to Sky TV through satellite dish only, and because Openreach and Virgin Media networks don’t operate in the region, alternatives like BT TV and Virgin TV aren’t accessible.


KCOM Problems

Two key difficulties with KCOM have already been identified:

  1. Until KCOM expands beyond East Yorkshire, its excellence in terms of speed and reliability will benefit only a small proportion of the UK population.
  2. Customers within the original KCOM region cannot, if they’re unhappy with the service or can’t get installation because of their property circumstances, choose from many alternatives. They can buy from mobile or satellite broadband providers, or companies such as Giganet or Wisper, but all may present problems of speed, expense, data caps, or reliability, because they don’t have the reach and infrastructure of KCOM there.

The good news for those who can or must use KCOM is that they are rated ‘good’ or ‘very good’ to ‘excellent’ on such metrics as customer support, reliability, speed, and value for money. Packages come complete with email addresses, free spam filters, and webspace.

On the other hand, users of Home Lite or business broadband packages must pay an activation fee, and no parental controls are available. There’s also a network restriction related to monopoly: customers can subscribe to Sky TV through satellite dish only, and because Openreach and Virgin Media networks don’t operate in the region, alternatives like BT TV and Virgin TV aren’t accessible.


KCOM offerings

  1. Different Lightstream full-fibre broadband packages are available with average speeds of 30, 75, 200, 400 and 900 megabytes per second.
  2. Varied phone and internet packages offer maximum choice, with landline only, mobile and landline, all-inclusive, and international options.
  3. Means-tested cost-efficient Flex packages are offered to low-income families and individuals, to help them better control their bills. Subject to fair usage, there is a price cap for customers on phone calls, for example.

Ways to contact Customer Service

Whether you’re an existing KCOM customer with a question or issue, or a potential customer who wants to explore its services, there are a number of routes to support. Your first stop should be the company website’s support page, with its searchable question-and-answer format. The page also usefully provides live information about whether the internet’s down because of a network service issue.

Via the same page, find how to contact KCOM via:

  • Email form
  • Live chat
  • Phoning different numbers, including Customer Services and Sales, Tech Support, paying bills, and reporting faults. The latter two are answered 24/7.
  • British Sign Language interpretation, available 8am–9pm on weekdays, or 9am–6pm at weekends.

Router settings

Whatever router you use, be it Netgear, Technicolor, Zyxel, or another, KCOM provides detailed information on set up and troubleshooting via clearly-written, downloadable PDFs on its site. It also publishes useful advice on relevant topics, such as how to get the best out of your router, on the Tech Corner section of the site.


Webmail settings

KCOM really is very good at communicating technical information in plain language that any user can grasp. Its Webmail users can find information about how to set up or change settings embedded in a great guide to the internet generally, so they can put Webmail into context.

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Our methodology
Roams offers a free information and comparison service, which tries to help anyone find the product that best suits their needs. To ensure that the data presented is correct, extensive market research and product analysis is carried out. Our database of mobile phone and internet rates is updated every day. The content is frequently reviewed by a team of writers with previous experience and/or specific training in telephony.

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Nadia Pérez
Edited and revised por Nadia Pérez