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.

Utilities software Kraken licences first ever broadband deal

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. 

MoneySavingExpert ran their latest poll and we’re chuffed that our customers ranked us the highest among some pretty big names. So why not give us a try? 

We launched Cuckoo in July last year with a very simple product. One single deal. One single price. One month rolling contract. One percent of people’s bills getting internet to people in need.

And we’ve focused on one thing for the thousands of people who have chosen to switch to us. Making our service great.

We’ve done this by hiring great people and building great tools. Our service team have experience on the ground as Openreach engineers, helping the police answer emergency calls and also in challenger banks such as Monzo. And the software tools we’re building are focused on making our customers and service team’s lives easier.

Through the Cuckoo Compass we’re about to connect a library in Western Ghana with fast Wi-Fi. We hope that over 20,000 people in the community will be impacted through improved education outcomes and access to resources.

We’re still so early in the life of our business and there’s so much more we want to do. So we’ll continue to strive onwards in our mission to make the internet frictionless.

We’ve just been rated the top broadband provider in the country for customer service, with a whopping 98% voting us “Great”.

Cuckoo voted top broadband provider for customer service

Fern Trading Limited today announced that it is consolidating Jurassic Fibre, Swish Fibre, Giganet and AllPoints Fibre into a single Fibre To The Premises (FTTP) operating entity to accelerate full-fibre delivery in the UK.

The combined group’s Internet Service Provider (ISP) brands will accelerate delivery of a ‘fast and fair’ full fibre offering for retail customers across the enlarged network.

The businesses will combine their regional operations and create a national wholesale network during the course of 2023.

The industry has seen considerable investment and growth in recent years as operators build market momentum and value. The unification of the four businesses will enable them to combine their resources, knowledge and expertise to hasten and grow full fibre network access across the UK. 

Jarlath Finnegan, currently CEO of Giganet, will lead the combined group moving forward. He said: “All four companies are excited to build upon the solid foundations they have built over the last few years as a combined force. Together, we will become even stronger through exceptional customer service, combined with a relentless focus on technology and product. We’re looking forward to expanding our presence across the country and providing even more customers with access to full fibre connectivity”.

John Browett, chairman of Fern Trading’s fibre division, said: “In the coming years, the UK fibre market is going to experience exponential change, driven by the massive need to ensure homes and businesses in every part of the UK have access to a fast and fairly priced internet service. We expect to see continued consolidation within the industry, and by combining these successful businesses now, we will be in a fantastic position to take advantage of those market opportunities as they unfold. Our ambitions have always been high, but today represents the start of even bolder aspirations for our place in the UK fibre sector”.

Fern brings together its retail and wholesale fibre businesses to accelerate UK fibre deployment

“I am delighted to be taking on the role of Managing Director of Cuckoo at such an exciting time for the company. We’re on a mission to transform the broadband industry and revolutionise the sector's reputation for customer service.

Sarah, who previously held the Chief Customer Officer role at Cuckoo, will lead the provider’s ambition to bring market-leading customer service to the broadband sector.

The newly created Managing Director role will oversee all of Cuckoo’s customer-facing activities across Sales, Customer Service, User Experience, Digital, Brand, Marketing and Product.

She’s had a distinguished career in customer service, having worked in the field for nearly 30 years and holding senior positions at NTL, Vodafone New Zealand and 2degrees Mobile.

This year, as Cuckoo continues its rapid expansion across the UK, Sarah is overseeing the integration of customers onto the revolutionary customer service platform Kraken. The deal, struck in July 2023, was a broadband industry first, as Cuckoo sets on shaking up the telecoms industry with an obsessive focus around customer service.

Sarah Howells, Managing Director of Cuckoo, said: “I am delighted to be taking on the role of Managing Director of Cuckoo at such an exciting time for the company. We’re on a mission to transform the broadband industry and revolutionise the sector's reputation for customer service.

“Providing our customers with unmatched customer experience is at the top of our agenda, and it’s critical to achieving our goal of providing fast, fair, feel-good broadband for all.

“Of course, with exceptional customer experience comes exceptional growth, and I look forward to helping the team deliver that for customers up and down the country.”

Paul Hellings, CEO of Cuckoo, said: “Sarah is one of the UK’s leading figures in broadband - she’s customer obsessed and her knowledge and passion for the customer experience is something rarely seen in the sector.

“With Sarah as Managing Director, and her three decades of expertise, I’m confident we can accelerate customer growth and provide unrivalled customer service at the lowest cost to serve.”

Utilities software Kraken licences first ever broadband deal

More from Cuckoo

Cuckoo voted top broadband provider for customer service

Fern brings together its retail and wholesale fibre businesses to accelerate UK fibre deployment

Cuckoo appoints Sarah Howells as Managing Director

How fast can you go?