Gigaclear is committed to protecting your personal data and privacy. This policy tells you what data we collect, how we process it, how we protect it, and what rights you have.
Updated November 2024
We are Gigaclear Ltd of Building One, Wyndyke Furlong, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 1UQ. Where we refer to ‘we’, ‘us’ or ‘our’, this means Gigaclear and our group companies. You are an individual about whom we hold personal information for one of the following reasons:
You are a customer or prospective customer of Gigaclear or one of our group companies who have entered a contract with us for our products or services.
You have a wayleave agreement with us or are discussing arrangements for us to access your property and install our network.
You visit www.gigaclear.com (our “site”).
You have communicated with us at an event or by phone, email, social media, surveys or other means for any reason.
The Information Commissioners Office regulates Gigaclear Ltd as a data controller (registration number Z330727X) and by Ofcom as a provider of Electronic Communications Services. We are a member of the Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA).
Please read this policy carefully to understand what data we collect and how we treat it. By visiting our site and/or buying our services, you confirm that you have read and understood the practices described in this policy. Should you have any queries or concerns, please contact our Data Protection Office at DPO@gigaclear.com.
Gigaclear follows these key principles in relation to the processing of personal data:
We will be fair, lawful and transparent about how we use your personal data.
We will only use your personal data for the purpose we collected it.
We will only collect and process the minimum amount of personal data we need for that purpose.
We will always ensure your personal data is accurate.
We will only keep your personal data for as long as we need it.
We will always ensure that we keep your personal data secure.
We collect and process your data in several ways. Generally, this is to provide you with the product or service you need or have asked for and to operate our communications network.
The information we collect may include:
Contact details (your name, address, email, social media handle and phone numbers).
Bank account details.
Health information and information about special requirements for vulnerable customers with your explicit consent.
Details of calls made using our Home Phone service for connecting and billing purposes.
Details of products and services you have with us.
Call recordings with Customer Services and Sales.
CCTV images if you visit our offices or are near our vehicles, which are fitted with dashcams.
Property or land ownership for wayleave administration.
Details of any correspondence you have with us.
Your preferences and consents.
You may give us information in several ways. These might include:
Filling in forms on our site or in person.
Corresponding with us by phone, email, live chat or otherwise.
Via our social media pages.
When you register interest in or purchase a product or service from us.
When you use our products and services.
Via surveys, reviews and referrals.
At events we host.
We may also collect the information you provide when you contact us to discuss access to your property or land, apply for Gigabit Broadband Vouchers, or report a problem with our communications equipment or network.
When you visit our site, we may automatically collect the following information:
Limited personal, mostly anonymous technical information, including the Internet protocol (IP) address used to connect your device to the Internet, browser type and version, time zone setting, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform.
Anonymous information about your visit, including the full Uniform Resource Locators (URL) you access through and from our site (including date and time); products you viewed or searched for; page response times, download errors, length of visits to certain pages, page interaction information (such as scrolling, clicks, and mouse-overs), methods used to browse away from the page, and any phone number used to call our customer service numbers.
This information is predominantly collected using cookies and similar technologies. It is generally only used to enhance how you can access and view our websites and provide anonymous site statistics. For more information, please refer to our cookie policy. The Cookie settings will allow you to control what information is used. Our policy is only to activate strictly necessary cookies as a default and to provide you with the option to consent to optional cookies. You are in control of the cookies on our site.
We do not currently respond to DNT (Do Not Track) technology.
When you receive an email from us, we may automatically collect the following information:
Whether they are delivered to you.
Whether you open them (and the time and date of opening).
What links you click on.
Details of the type of device you have viewed on.
This information is used for analytical purposes to allow us to improve our service and communications with you.
When you interact with one of our social media pages (including Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn), we may automatically collect the following information:
Posts you make.
Comments you make.
Name/profile handle.
This information is used to respond to comments and posts and help us understand what is being said about our company, products and services. Social media sites will also have privacy policies and settings that allow you more control over your privacy.
We may obtain information about you from the following sources:
Public sources such as the Land Registry (to help us identify landowners for our network build).
Government - Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (to administer Gigabit Broadband Vouchers). You can view their privacy policy here.
If you use any of the other websites we operate or the other services we provide - in this case, we will have informed you when we collected that data that it may be shared internally and combined with data collected on this site.
Third parties we work with, including, for example:
Business partners and sub-contractors.
Suppliers.
Payment and delivery services.
Advertising networks.
Social media networks and public posts.
Analytics providers.
Search information providers.
Tracing and fraud prevention providers.
Credit reference agencies.
Debt recovery agencies.
Data agencies (to maintain the accuracy of data).
We may collect and retain certain types of communication data:
Traffic management and usage data (to manage the operation of our network).
Call data to enable us to provide accurate billing in our Home Phone service.
Information about the IP address assigned to your account.
The number and type of devices that you allow to connect to your broadband service to help us with diagnostics.
Please note that third-party service providers such as telephone, mobile phone, Wi-Fi, or other communications service providers that provide a service to you using Gigaclear’s Broadband may also separately collect, access, and retain data about you and your use of services across the Internet. They are controllers of the data they collect about you, and you should ask them about their privacy policy.
Our site may, from time to time, contain links to and from the websites of our partners, advertisers, and affiliates. If you follow a link to any of these websites, please note that they have their privacy policies and that we do not accept any responsibility or liability for these policies. Please check these policies before submitting personal or confidential data to these websites.
This section explains how we will use your information and the legal basis we rely on to allow us to do that. We use information held about you in the following ways:
We will use this information:
To carry out our obligations and to enforce our rights arising from any contracts entered between you and us and to provide you with the information, products, and services that you request from us as part of those contracts (e.g., to install services or deliver products, billing).
To participate in the One Touch Switch scheme, where you request that.
To notify you about changes to our service (e.g., terms and conditions, this privacy policy).
To notify you about network maintenance, planned and unplanned outages (this may include sharing information securely with contractors who are carrying out this work on our behalf).
To arrange access to your property for essential maintenance and repair.
To manage Network Access Agreements. This may include sharing your information with other utility providers if we are using their infrastructure to deploy our network (e.g., shared ducts and poles). This information is securely processed and cannot be used for other purposes.
To provide you with information about other services we offer, upgrades, special offers, events, and other promotions.
To respond to any queries, complaints, and requests.
To send you surveys from time to time.
To apply for Gigabit Broadband Vouchers on your behalf with your consent. This data will be shared with the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) to administer the voucher scheme. For more information about how the DSIT process your data, please click here.
To monitor the performance of our network build contractors.
To ensure that content from our site is presented most effectively for you and your computer or device.
To comply with any legal obligations we have because we run a business and because we are an Internet Service Provider and an Electronic Communications Provider.
To invite you to and manage community events.
To use CCTV images for security and evidence where required and appropriate.
If you contact us about our network build, we will use your contact information to communicate with you and, where necessary, ensure that our contractors communicate with you to investigate a complaint or rectify an issue. We will use your information to inform our quality control and management of our business and, as part of our duties, promote health and safety at work.
We do not monitor what you do on the Internet or home phone services, i.e., what websites you visit or the content of your emails, messages, or calls.
We use your information primarily to fulfil our contractual and legal obligations.
Where you have contacted us requesting information or provided us with your data for other purposes, we will rely on legitimate interests to fulfil this for you. You will always have the right to object.
Where we require your consent (for example, if we use third-party data), we will use your information in accordance with that consent.
We will seek your explicit consent when the data is classified as a special category (e.g., physical or mental health). We will use this information to support vulnerable customers.
We also use your information to enable us to run our business and ensure the quality of our work. It is in our legitimate business interests to do this where this does not materially impact your freedoms or rights. This would include using your information to assist the good governance of our business, provide you with the information you need, have asked for or would reasonably expect, manage, accounting and auditing of our business and, for example, monitor the service provided to us by third parties or when analysing traffic flows on our network to ensure all our customers have optimal service. We will always inform you when we rely on our legitimate interests and provide you the right to object.
You have the following rights in relation to your information that we collect and process:
We hope this Privacy Policy explains how we use your information. If you would like any further information, please contact dpo@gigaclear.com.
You have the right to ask us what information we hold and how we process it and to obtain, for example, copies of voice recordings, copies of the records we hold about or related to you, and copies of live chat with our customer service staff. To make a data subject access request, please click here.
You have the right to ask us to correct inaccurate information, for example, to make changes to your contact details or direct debit details.
You have the right to ask us to erase the information we hold about you. However, there are some circumstances where this right does not apply, or where we are not required to comply with your request – for instance, if we need to retain your data for regulatory or other legal reasons.
As an alternative to erasure, you may ask us to restrict specific processing. An example of this is to request that we don’t process your data for specific purposes (such as marketing).
This allows you to obtain a copy of your data, either directly or transferred securely to another data controller, such as when moving to a new service provider. It is unlikely that this right will be relevant to the type of services we offer to you, as there are industry-wide processes in place to ensure, for example, number portability or One Touch Switching which are governed by Ofcom. If you do wish to make a request, please contact us to discuss this.
You have the right to object to certain aspects of our processing of your information.
This is sometimes used to request human intervention where a data controller has relied on automated decision-making or profiling. We do not currently conduct any automated decision-making or profiling.
You can exercise any of your rights by using the online forms here.
Once we’ve reviewed your request, we’ll let you know when you can expect to hear from us. We normally take up to one month to complete it, but it could take longer (up to two months) if it’s complicated or you send us a lot of requests at once.
For more information or to exercise these rights, please contact us at DPO@gigaclear.com
If you'd like a copy of your billing information, the quickest way to access it is by logging into your Gigaclear online customer portal. It’s quick and simple to access it this way. If you want to see the contact information we hold about you, you can also access this on the Gigaclear customer portal account. If you request other personal information, click the link above.
We may share your information with any member of our group, which means our subsidiaries or parent undertakings as defined in the Companies Act 2006.
We will not share your information for marketing purposes with companies outside our group unless we have specifically asked for your consent.
We will rely on our legitimate interests and the need to fulfil our contract with you to share your information with selected third parties, including:
Business partners, suppliers and sub-contractors for the performance of any contract we enter with you. This includes our installation partners, and our own employees who may enter your property to connect you to our broadband service or repair our network. Third-party suppliers will only be given access to your information for the purpose and the duration necessary and will be required to comply with our requirements regarding confidentiality and security of your information.
The One Touch Switching Company to participate in the scheme to enable easier switching between providers.
Our professional advisers, to enable them to provide legal, accountancy and insurance services to our business.
Regulators, government and local councils where legally or contractually required to monitor and report on network build status and related matters.
Analytics and search engine providers that assist us in the improvement and optimisation of our site.
Credit reference agencies for assessing your credit score where this is a condition of us entering a contract with you.
Tracing and fraud prevention partners.
Debt recovery partners.
We may also disclose your information to third parties, relying on our legitimate interests and our duty to comply with legal obligations:
If we sell or buy any business or assets, in which case we may disclose your information to the prospective seller or buyer of such business or assets.
If Gigaclear or substantially all its assets are acquired by a third party, in which case the information we hold about our customers will be one of the transferred assets.
If we are under a duty to disclose or share information to comply with any legal obligation, to enforce or apply our standard terms and other agreements, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Gigaclear, our customers, or others. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organisations for the purposes of fraud protection and credit risk reduction.
To comply with any legal and regulatory obligations we have as an Internet Service Provider and an Electronic Communications Provider.
All information we process about you is held securely.
Any payment transactions will be made using authorised third-party payment gateways with appropriate encryption. The privacy policy of the appropriate provider will be displayed at the time of the transaction.
Where we have given you (or where you have chosen) a password which enables you to access certain parts of our site, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We ask you not to share a password with anyone.
The data we collect from you is primarily stored and managed in the UK, but some of our systems and other suppliers may transfer and store your information outside the UK. We will take all necessary steps to ensure that your data is treated securely and to the same standards as if it were being processed inside the UK in a way that complies with all applicable legislation governing data protection and security.
Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the Internet is not completely secure. Although we will do our best to protect your information, we cannot guarantee the security of your data transmitted to our site; any transmission is at your own risk. Once we have received your information, we will use strict procedures and security features to prevent unauthorised access.
We will only keep your data for as long as necessary, depending on the purpose for which we collected it. We’ll apply following guidelines:
Data Type | How long do we keep it? |
Your general account details, including information contained in our customer profile, contact details and purchase history | 6 years from the date on which your account is closed. |
Financial and payment information, including the information you provide to carry out credit and affordability checks (if applicable) | 6 years from the date your account has been closed. |
Customer service records, including calls to our call centres and online chats | Up to 6 years from the date of the interaction, depending on the purpose of the interaction. |
Marketing preferences, including contact details. | Up to 6 years from the date your account is closed or, if you’re not a customer, from the date we collected your personal details. |
Details relating to any dispute | 6 years from the date on which the case was closed. |
SMS content and data relating to calls | 7 days from when the SMS is sent (longer if scams or malware are identified and up to 12 months after the call. |
At the end of that period, we will either delete the information entirely or anonymise it for statistical analysis and business planning. And sometimes, we’ll keep it for longer if we need to, for example, if we’re required to retain data to comply with our legal obligations to deal with legal claims.
If you have a Network Access Agreement with us, we need to keep details of our agreement as long as the equipment remains installed in your property. We also keep contact details for you in case we need to access your property for repairs or maintenance. Please help us keep that information accurate and up to date. If you sell your property, please inform the new owner about our agreement (as it will apply to them) and ask them to contact us to give us their contact details.
Questions, comments and requests regarding this privacy policy are welcomed and should be addressed to dpo@gigaclear.com or in writing to:
The Data Protection Office
Gigaclear Ltd
Building One
Wyndyke Furlong
Abingdon, Oxfordshire
OX14 1UQ
Our telephone number is 01865 591100.
If you wish to complain about the way we've processed your data, you can tell us directly. Complaints Form to submit a complaint, and we'll acknowledge it within 30 days and keep you updated while we look into it.
If you're not satisfied with how we handle your complaint, you can escalate it to the regulator:
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)
Click here or call their helpline on 0303 123 1113.
Our ICO registration number is Z330727X.
Our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users. This helps us provide a good experience when you browse our website and allows us to improve it. See our Cookie Policy for detailed information on the cookies we use and their purposes.
We will regularly review and update this policy. Any changes we make will be posted on this page and, where appropriate, emailed to you. Please check back frequently to see any updates or changes to our privacy policy.
Previous changes to this policy are listed below:
November 2024 – Update made to include layering.
September 2024 – To include One Touch Switching
April 2024 – Updates to lawful basis of processing, general updates to collection and use of data.
July 2023 – General Updates.
January 2022 – Addition of privacy details relating to Home Phone services. General Updates.
April 2021 – Our Privacy Principles, a more detailed explanation of your rights, The Information Commissioner’s Office Contact Details, Details about the Gigabit Broadband Voucher scheme.
May 2018 – Privacy Policy updated to reflect GDPR.
Here is an explanation of how our technical terms are commonly understood.
Anonymised Data: Information stripped of identifiers to prevent linking to individuals, used for analysing website performance.
Browser Information: Automatically collected details like IP address and browser type are used to optimise Gigaclear’s website.
Communications Data: Network usage data, such as IP addresses, used to maintain broadband and phone services.
Consent: Permission to process personal data, required by Gigaclear for sensitive data or sharing with third parties.
Cookies: Small files on devices to improve website functionality; Gigaclear allows users to control cookie settings.
Customer Data: Personal details, including name, contact, and billing information, are collected to manage service contracts.
Data Controller: The entity determining how data is processed; Gigaclear acts as a data controller.
Data Processor: Third-party organisation processing data on behalf of a data controller.
Data Subject Rights: Individual rights under data laws, such as access and correction, which Gigaclear supports.
Do Not Track (DNT): Browser settings that request users not to be tracked; Gigaclear doesn’t currently respond to DNT.
Encryption: Data coding prevents unauthorised access; Gigaclear uses it to protect personal data.
Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA): UK association for ISPs; Gigaclear is a member.
IP Address: Unique online identifier for devices Gigaclear collects for network and fraud management.
Legitimate Interest: Lawful processing for business purposes allows objections; Gigaclear uses this basis for some operations.
Personal Data: Information identifying individuals, like contact details and billing, used for service delivery.
Special Categories of Data: Sensitive data requiring additional protection, such as health information.
Traffic Data: Information on network usage, managed by Gigaclear for billing and troubleshooting.
Wayleave: An agreement allowing us access to property for network installation, with Gigaclear collecting necessary land ownership details.
Website Interaction Data: Details of user actions on the website used by Gigaclear to enhance user experience.
Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO): The UK regulatory authority responsible for upholding information rights and enforcing data protection laws.
Retention Period: The duration for which personal data is retained.
Network Access Agreement: Agreement allowing Gigaclear property access for installations and maintenance (sometimes known as a wayleave).