Hyperoptic Prep 1Gbps FTTP Broadband for 99000 Southwark Homes

The London borough of Southwark has signed a new deal with 1Gbps UK fibre optic broadband ISP Hyperoptic, which should result in around 53,000 council homes and 46,000 other homes in the area (at no cost to the taxpayer) gaining access to their Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP/B) network.

As many people will know, Southwark has long been known as one of London’s weakest areas for fixed line “superfast broadband” (24Mbps+) – sitting at around 92% coverage – or even “ultrafast” (100Mbps+) services. This is partly due to the large number of Exchange Only Lines (EOL) that can be particularly expensive to upgrade.

Over the past few years both Openreach (BT) and Virgin Media have made some improvements to their local coverage of FTTC and Cable (DOCSIS) infrastructure but, as above, a big gap remains. In response the local authority has been trying to improve matters, which recently resulted in a deal to help Relish Wireless (Three UK) expand their fixed wireless broadband network around long suffering Rotherhithe (here).

The deal with Relish is expected to “supply up to 40Mb broadband speeds across 70% of the borough” but more is still needed. Meanwhile Hyperoptic has already deployed their urban FTTP and FTTB network into many parts of the UK (400,000 premises), including a big chunk of London, and they’re aiming to reach 500,000 premises by 2019, followed by 2 million in 2022; there’s also an aspiration for 5 million by 2025 (here).

Hyperoptic’s typical approach focuses upon connecting their fibre optic based network to large residential (Multi-Dwelling Units with at least 50 units) or office buildings in dense urban areas. This is likely to also form the basis for their new deal with Southwark Council. The agreement with Southwark Council will also aim to tackle some of the obstacles to planning, which could otherwise slow down their network expansion.

Cllr Fiona Colley, Southwark Council, said:

“Once again Southwark Council has shown how we can find innovative new ideas and partnerships to help deliver a better broadband service to our residents.

This new agreement with Hyperoptic will complement other projects we have undertaken around the borough and means we can get improved broadband into more of our council estates, increasing the choice for our tenants and making it easier for Hyperoptic to then extend their service to private properties nearby.

In addition, Hyperoptic has committed to providing every council-owned TRA Hall and community centre with free gigabit capable broadband connections and as we work towards getting everyone in the borough online, it is also fantastic to hear that Hyperoptic will be offering digital inclusion training to staff and residents on our estates so everyone can gain the knowledge and confidence to make the most of the new services being offered.”

Dana Tobak, CEO of Hyperoptic, adds:

“The role of local government in enabling the future of a full fibre Britain cannot be understated. Wayleaves are the number one hindrance to urban rollouts. Southwark has chosen not only to help, but also to champion a digital future for its residents.

Thanks to the hard work of Southwark Council and our team, we can now substantially invest in the area and quickly rollout our future-proof infrastructure across the whole borough. Unfettered Internet access has the power to revolutionise lives – we sincerely hope that other councils will follow Southwark’s example and empower us to deliver gigabit enabled fibre to more residents and businesses.”

Under the deal it’s suggested that 80% of homes in the borough could be covered by Hyperoptic’s FTTP/B network. This sounds about right because the GLA estimated in 2015 that there were just under 130,000 households in Southwark.

The first installation at the Osprey Estate is due to be live within six weeks and the rest of Southwark’s buildings will be connected over the coming year. As part of the installation process, Hyperoptic will install over 40km of cable in Southwark – on top of the 22km it has installed to date (their network already passes 22,000 homes in the area).

Last month Hyperoptic also made headlines after it demonstrated the “fastest home broadband the country has ever seen” (here) by testing a 10Gbps service at East Village (the London 2012 Athletes’ Village). Today, the ISP covers one in seven homes in central London. With this agreement and other planned deployments Hyperoptic will reach one in five homes by this time next year. If other London councils follow suit this number could be increased to one in three.

NOTE: The deployment also includes 1,000 commercial properties, which form part of Southwark Council’s housing portfolio.

UPDATE 9:17am

Added some extra details from the press release.