These will cover everything from team news & industry insights to opinion pieces from the team, like this insight into diversity in the telecom industry.

Expert advice on topics like privacy, security, networking, connectivity and technology. We'll be inviting industry experts and household names to share their knowledge on a variety of topics.

We welcome you to contribute, please get in touch if you’ve got an idea.

Updates straight from the Cuckoo's nest! All the latest news from the growth, UX & Design, Technology, service and leadership teams. And you can even go back and read all the old Cuckoo monthly customer newsletters. Fancy that. 

Introducing the Cuckoo Content Hub

Today marks the launch of the all-new Cuckoo Content Hub: a home to our blogs, guides & news updates.

The cloud platform ‘Kraken’ has already revolutionised the energy industry and is contracted to serve 30 million customer accounts across 14 countries including the UK, the US, Japan, Australia and a large portion of mainland Europe. 

Octopus Energy was Kraken’s first client and rapidly grew because of its quick and efficient service enabled by the tech platform. It is now the second largest energy supplier in the UK and the only one that has been recommended by consumer champion Which? for six years in a row.   

National internet service provider Cuckoo was launched in 2020 by digital entrepreneurs set on shaking up telecoms in the same way by insisting on obsessive focus around customers, and calling for better industry standards. 

Kraken will enable the replication of Octopus’ famously efficient operating model which reduces the cost-to-serve by up to 40% and leads to better client and employee satisfaction. It delivers over 100 releases a day supported by automatic testing, giving faster development compared to competitors. It also makes it easier for customers to solve their own issues.

Deepak Ravindran, CEO of Kraken Utilities, said: “We're absolutely thrilled to sign Cuckoo as our first licensee in the Telecom industry. We see a lot of similarities in Octopus and Cuckoo - one has disrupted its sector, the other is about to - and both thanks to Kraken. Cuckoo customers are about to experience first class service.”

Tommy Toner, Co-Founder and Chief Experience Officer of Cuckoo, said: “We set up Cuckoo in the depths of the pandemic because we had the burning drive to make the broadband experience better. We’ve grown quickly, but to drive real change, we need the tech prowess and operational expertise that Kraken will unlock. We’re delighted to be their first broadband client.”

Development work begins now, with the intention of starting to migrate Cuckoo customers to its own Kraken-enabled in-house tech platform in the next few months.

Kraken Utilities, part of Octopus Energy Group, has landed its first broadband deal by licensing to disruptor Cuckoo. The deal was struck within a year of the launch of Kraken Utilities, which was created to take Kraken to utilities beyond energy, such as broadband and water. 

Utilities software Kraken licences first ever broadband deal

Up next is Employee Experience Business Partner, Rosie

Everything bar Heinz Ketchup and a Curry sauce from the chippy down the road from me, is off limits

I look after people experience within the People and Culture team. 

My role is all about making sure the employee experience is something we can all be proud of, something that's value driven (in a united, different and Cuckoo way), that it's consistent and that at any given point in time we're taking the opportunity to make coming to work at Cuckoo a great experience. 

My favourite thing about the role is that I'm given autonomy, scope and support to be creative, do things differently and challenge when I don't think we're doing the right thing. 

Show & tell - show us an item that represents you

When I was younger I younger I was really into photography but I just wasn't very good at it! So I never got any fancy cameras

But I love taking pictures of my friends, my kids and my dogs. So, that's why I love my Polaroid camera.

Rosie 2.mp4

If you could have any celebrity join the People team, who would it be and why would they be a good fit?

I'm a massive Swiftie and have also been an active member of the Beyhive since Writing's on the Wall in 1999 but I think I'm going to stick this side of the pond! I feel like Phoebe Waller-Bridge or Sharon Horgan would fit right in. Both are award-winning, insanely talented, painfully honest and changing the game in their own respective fields. Equally as important as all that, they're bloody hilarious. 

Both were actually born in London so I feel like we'd keep it simple with a (realllllllyyyy) good pub lunch. I'm also not a Londoner myself, so I'd let them pick the pub!

Yes. I really do and its condiments. Pretty much everything bar Heinz Ketchup and a Curry sauce from the chippy down the road from me, is off limits. It's a shame because it makes for a lot of really dry meals when out in nice restaurants. I have no idea where the dislike, and almost phobia, came from but the worst thing you could do to me is serve me up some chips and mayo

Looking for a new career in broadband? You can ketchup with all our vacancies on our careers page 🌭

Welcome to the next instalment of our Good Eggs series, where we find out more about our incredible team here at Cuckoo.

The Good Eggs interview - Rosie

Why is my upload speed faster than download?

Download, download, download. Until recently, it was the only internet speed people ever talked about. Upload speed, usually much lower, has always been seen as the poor relation. That’s because most of what we did online involved downloading data, rather than uploading it. 

But with many of us now WFH, gaming online, making video calls and talking to Alexa, we’re uploading more than ever. That’s why some broadband providers, including Cuckoo, are now offering ‘symmetrical’ speeds (exactly the same upload and download speeds). Fasten your seatbelts and our handy guide will tell you more.   

Upload speed is the rate at which data can travel from your device to the internet. And  download speed is the rate at which data can travel the other way. So if you’re sharing your amazing-looking lunch on Instagram, you’re uploading. And if you’re watching a film on Netflix, you’re downloading. Handily, they’re both measured in Mbps (megabits per second). 

It really depends on what you do online. The following speeds only apply when you’re the only one using the internet. If you live with other people, you can triple or quadruple them.   

·       1-2Mbps - If you only use the internet for social media and the odd email  

·       9-10Mbps - If you work from home 

·       18-20Mbps - If your job involves sending big files and joining video meetings 

·       18-20Mbps – If you’re a serious gamer seeking instant response with no freezing 

·       30-40Mbps – If you enjoy high-quality streaming in 4k. And eventually, 8K 

Of course, if you switch to Cuckoo full fibre broadband, you'll have all the upload speed you and your friends or family could possibly need, all of the time. As we explain below... 

Other people are a big factor. If your kids are making TikTok’s and hosting live gaming streams in their bedrooms, your other half is zooming their mum and you’re trying to send a large presentation, you’ll need a pretty hefty upload speed to handle it all without delays. Basically, the more devices being used in your home, the higher the upload speed you’ll need. 

For all kinds of reasons. If you WFH and/or send large files and rely on smooth, reliable video calls, a decent upload speed will make it happen much more quickly, making you more productive. And look more professional. Also, if you’re a competitive gamer who doesn’t like losing, you need the best possible reaction times to keep your nose in front. And for any influencers out there who want to live stream content in HD, you’ll need the fastest upload speed you can get to keep up. 

Make sure your ping rate is really pinging 

Ping (or latency as it’s also known) is the actual time it takes for data to go from your keyboard to the screen and back. It’s measured in milliseconds (ms). A low ping rate is what you need when you’re uploading videos, streaming content or playing online games. Anything around 40-60ms or lower is good. Above 100ms and you’ll. Notice. The. Lag. When you drop an evil plan dance emote on some random in Fortnite, you want that dance emote dropped immediately.    

I feel the need. The need for a speed test. 

To check what your ping rate is and what upload (and download) speeds you’re actually getting, just take a simple speed test. There are plenty of websites and apps to choose from. And many routers have tests built-in. Our easy-to-follow speed test guide will show you how. 

Does full fibre mean faster upload speeds? 

Oh yes. And we’re talking a mighty 900Mbps rather than the feeble 30Mbps or whatever you’re getting (if you’re lucky) from your old part-copper cable connection. It’s internet chalk and cheese. Better still, if you want brilliantly fast upload and download speeds AND amazing reliability, switch to Cuckoo full fibre broadband 

Most broadband providers shout about their download speeds, which are usually much faster than their upload speeds. But as we change the way we work, rest and play online, uploading is becoming more and more important. 

Introducing the Cuckoo Content Hub

Blogs

Guides

News Updates

More from Cuckoo

Utilities software Kraken licences first ever broadband deal

The Good Eggs interview - Rosie

Broadband upload speeds vs download speeds

How fast can you go?