Cornwall’s full-fibre crew just put a TV box on the bill. Not Sky. Not Virgin. A TiVo-powered stick-and-remote stack riding the same Wildanet broadband pipe that was already wiring rural Devon and Cornwall.
Wildanet TV went live in early September 2026. Press page dated 1 September. ISPreview dug into the kit on 9–10 September. I checked the live packages page on 11 September so the pound figures below are what the site is waving today, not a rumour screenshot from last week.
If you’re outside their footprint, this is still useful. Altnets are quietly copying the broadband-plus-Freely playbook. Wildanet got there first with a “Powered by TiVo” badge.
What you actually get
Short version from Wildanet’s own TV packages page:
- £8.99 a month on a 24-month contract for the TV add-on
- Price rises to £9.39 from December 2027 (they flag the 40p bump in plain English)
- Box, voice remote with batteries, HDMI and power cable included
- Needs an active Wildanet Full Fibre line. No Wildanet broadband, no Wildanet TV
- Live UK channels via Freely (they pitch around 70 live channels / 35 HD on the ISPreview confirmation)
- Hundreds of free TiVo Channels, plus free apps like Tubi and Plex
- Streaming apps in the UI: Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, HBO Max, Premier Sports, BBC iPlayer, ITVX, Channel 4, YouTube and friends. Those subscriptions are paid separately to each service
- Voice search across apps. Catch-up by scrolling back the guide on supported channels. No PVR / hard-disk recording. They lean on catch-up apps instead
Wildanet told ISPreview the box is 4K-capable with Wi‑Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, HDMI 2.0b, AV1 / HDR support, and Dolby Atmos / DTS:X pass-through. Manufacturer not named. Commenters smell a Manhattan Aero-class Freely box. Treat that as informed guesswork until Wildanet prints a model sticker.
Why this matters in Cornwall and Devon
Wildanet says the network reaches about 62,000 homes and businesses across Cornwall and Devon, with more rural builds still landing through Project Gigabit and new-build work. Upcoming names on the launch note: Goonhavern, Polperro, Praze-an-Beeble, Crackington Haven, Calstock.
Plenty of those houses lost a usable aerial years ago when cable got punched through the same hole. A Wi‑Fi Freely box removes the “but then I need a new aerial” excuse when someone wants off Virgin or Sky broadband.
It is not a premium sports stack. You are not getting Sky Sports baked into that £8.99. You are getting free-to-air Freely, catch-up apps, and a tidy shelf for the streamers you already pay for.
How it sits next to EE, Vodafone and NOW
Different compromises:
- EE TV’s September rename is a national broadband-plus-box stack with Netflix / NOW / Max packaging gymnastics.
- Vodafone TV is the bigger autumn rival: Freely plus Netflix and HBO Max in the operator story, national footprint.
- NOW Savers stay the flexible “no new set-top” route if you only want Entertainment or Sports without another remote.
- Wildanet is local, Freely-first, and cheap as a TV add-on. Coverage decides everything.
If you already care about Freely’s expanding free channel list, the Channel 5 Freely additions post is the other half of that living-room story.
Five-minute reality check before you add it
- Run Wildanet’s postcode checker. No Full Fibre on your street, this whole article is sightseeing.
- Confirm you are happy with a 24-month TV contract. Other altnets have used 30-day boxes. Wildanet did not.
- Budget the streamers separately. Netflix / Disney+ / Max / Premier Sports are not “included” just because the icons sit on the home row.
- Keep a TV Licence if you watch live TV or iPlayer. Wildanet says the same thing in their FAQ. Correctly.
- If you live for pause-live / series record, this catch-up-only stance will annoy you. Buy a recorder-class Freely box instead, or stay on a PVR platform.
No sideloading lecture needed. This is a stock Freely / TiVo path. Players and boxes are tools. Keep the catalogue legal.
Wildanet did not invent television. They packaged Freely and TiVo for rural full-fibre customers who were tired of aerials and engineer diaries, stuck a clear £8.99 on it, and shipped. If your postcode is green on their map, that is a proper alternative to another Sky or Virgin remote. If it is not, file the model for when your own altnet copies the homework.
