The Bottom Line If you are tired of the Big 4 ISPs treating you like a number while charging a premium for asymmetrical speeds, Olilo is the refreshing, prosumer-focused AltNet you’ve been looking for. With a direct line to company executives via Discord, symmetrical speed tiers, and a “bring your own gear” philosophy, it is a home-labber’s dream come true.
For years, the UK broadband market has felt like a race to the bottom in terms of customer service, while prices only ever seem to climb. I was recently paying EE £77 per month for a 1.6Gbps connection. On paper, it sounds fast, but in reality, it was the classic UK asymmetric trap: 1,600Mbps down, but a measly 110Mbps up. As Olilo uses openreach infrastructure my particular location I’m still stuck with those speeds but at a significantly cheaper cost!
When I tried to negotiate a better deal. EE was not interested. They did not just say no; they effectively ignored the tenure of a 5 year customer.
That was the final straw.
Enter Olilo
The AltNet That Speaks Our Language
I stumbled across Olilo through a Reddit thread while hunting for a better deal. Based in the UK, they are part of the growing wave of AltNets providing full-fiber infrastructure.
But Olilo is different. They do not just provide a pipe; they provide a service tailored for people who actually care about their network.
They offer two distinct paths:
1. Consumer: Standard plug and play experience.
If you choose the standard Olilo Consumer plan, this modern, glowing router is the standard issue hardware provided. Perfect for ‘plug-and-play’ users, though Prosumers will want to bring their own gear.
2. Prosumer: This is the sweet spot for the KL Tech audience.
The Olilo Prosumer tier is a home-labber’s dream, offering Static IPs and a “Bring Your Own Router” policy as standard.
It requires you to bring your own equipment (BYOR). No cheap, locked-down ISP routers here—you plug your own pfSense, OPNsense, Ubiquiti gear or my personal favourite, Firewalla; directly into the ONT.
The Prosumer Perks: Built for Homelabs
On the Prosumer plan, you get a static IP address as standard. For those of us running home servers, Plex, or self-hosted builds, that is non-negotiable. Need more? You can purchase larger IP blocks for a price that is frankly cheap compared to industry standards.
The Olilo Prosumer tier is a home-labber’s dream, offering Static IPs and a “Bring Your Own Router” policy as standard.
The deal I got: instead of the £77 a month EE wanted me to charge for the same 1.6 gig down. Olilo offered it for £49pm! But that wasn’t all, they even guaranteed the same price for the next 24 months! While EE wanted to increase it every April!
Radical Transparency
The most striking thing about Olilo is not just the tech—it is the culture. Their primary hub of communication is Discord. It is extremely rare even amongst AltNets to get such immediate communication with company executives and fellow customers.
I recently witnessed how they handle a crisis. Olilo was targeted by a DDoS attack that hit their infrastructure. It was resolved within a few hours, but more importantly, the CEO immediately addressed the issue on Discord.
The following day, an entire comprehensive report of the issue was issued. This level of detail and honesty is something you simply would not get from a corporate giant.
Forget long hold times and script-reading bots; at Olilo, you can chat directly with the leadership team, like COO Aydan, on their Discord.
The Road to May 18th
I have set my activation date for May 18th. This aligns perfectly with my 30-day notice for EE, ensuring I do not pay a penny more to the big guys than I have to. The sign-up process was seamless; I provided my EE details, and Olilo is handling the switch.
Even there billing portal loads ultra fast unlike EE’s very slow app! If you know, you know! I am genuinely hyped for this. I will let you know what it is like on the other side once the line is live.
The COO Aydan had this exclusive for KL Tech Readers:
“People don’t switch to Olilo just for speed – they switch because they’re tired of the usual ISP bullshit. We’re transparent, we move fast, and we actually give a damn about the experience. Heck what ISP have you seen where you can joke with the higher ups?!? We built Olilo for the people, not for the money.” – Aydan – Olilo COO and Co-Founder
