Northern Ireland’s full-fibre crew just put a TV puck on the bill. Not Sky. Not Virgin. A Netgem PLEIO box riding the same Fibrus fibre that already covers big chunks of rural NI and Cumbria.
Fibrus TV was announced on 8 September 2026. Broadband Analyst and ISPreview both walked the kit. Mid-September is the launch window, which means this week is when the add-on should stop being a press release and start being a package you can actually order if your postcode is green.
If you are outside Fibrus, still worth a read. Altnets keep copying the same Freely-plus-box homework. Wildanet did TiVo in Cornwall. Fibrus went Netgem. Different badge, same idea: live TV over the broadband pipe, no aerial drama.
What Fibrus TV actually is
Short version from the launch notes:
- £7.99 a month at launch, rising to the normal £9.99
- Needs an active Fibrus full fibre line. No Fibrus broadband, no Fibrus TV
- Hardware is Netgem’s PLEIO 4K IPTV puck (Android TV class box)
- Freely live TV over Wi‑Fi / the fibre line. No aerial. No dish
- More than 100 live channels including BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 via Freely
- More than 150 extra streamed channels
- Google Play streaming apps on the same box
- More than 300 cloud games, with a wireless gamepad in the retail kit story
This is an add-on, not a Sky-style “broadband + sports” rebuild. Broadband stays the main product. TV sits on top.
PLEIO on Amazon vs Fibrus on the bill
Same platform shows up two ways:
- Fibrus TV add-on for Fibrus customers: launch price £7.99 / month, standard £9.99
- Retail PLEIO kit on Amazon for about £99: puck, voice remote, wireless gamepad, plus 12 months of premium content in that retail bundle
Do the maths before you shrug. Twelve months at £7.99 is roughly £96. The Amazon kit’s £99 with a year of premium content is in the same ballpark if you are not on Fibrus. If you are on Fibrus, the ISP add-on is the path they want you on. Contract length for the Fibrus TV add-on, any box deposit, and how long £7.99 lasts were still thin in the early coverage. Fibrus’s dedicated fibrus.com/tv page was not usefully live when Broadband Analyst checked on 10 September. Check the live order flow before you commit.
Who this is for (and who should skip)
Fibrus footprint first. The network now passes about 471,800 premises with around 155,000 customers across Northern Ireland and Cumbria. Outside that map, this article is sightseeing.
Worth it if:
- You already pay Fibrus and your aerial is a joke
- You want Freely + catch-up apps on one remote without buying a new smart TV
- Cloud games on the couch sound useful and you will actually use the pad
Skip or pause if:
- Your postcode is not Fibrus green
- You only want Netflix icons and already have a stick / smart TV that does that for free
- You need a proper PVR / series record stack (confirm catch-up behaviour in the live FAQ before assuming)
- You expected Sky Sports baked into £7.99. It is not that product
Premium apps on Google Play are still billed by those apps. Netflix, Disney+, Max and friends do not become “included” just because the icons sit on the home row.
How it sits next to Wildanet, Vodafone and EE
Same month, different compromises:
- Wildanet TV is TiVo-powered Freely for Cornwall and Devon from £8.99 on a clear 24-month TV contract
- Vodafone TV is the bigger autumn national play: Freely plus Netflix and HBO Max in the operator story, October timing
- EE TV’s September rename is the national packaging shuffle on the BT EE side
- Fibrus is local, Netgem PLEIO, Freely-first, and cheaper than Wildanet on the headline launch rate
If you are chasing free live channel growth rather than an ISP box, the Freely Channel 5 list post is the other half of that story.
Five-minute checklist before you add it
- Run Fibrus’s postcode checker. No full fibre on your street, stop here.
- Confirm the live £7.99 term, box fee, and TV contract length in the order flow. Early press did not nail those.
- Budget streamers separately.
- Keep a TV Licence if you watch live TV or iPlayer. Same rule as every Freely box.
- Decide whether cloud games matter. If not, you are mostly buying Freely convenience and a second remote.
No sideloading sermon. Stock Freely / Android TV path. Players and boxes are tools. Keep the catalogue legal.
Fibrus did not invent television. They put Netgem’s PLEIO puck on a rural full-fibre bill, stuck a £7.99 launch rate on it, and timed it for mid-September 2026. If your Fibrus line is already humming and the aerial is dead, that is a clean alternative to another Sky or Virgin remote. If the map is red, file the model for when your own altnet copies the homework.
