Hyperoptic Bring 1000Mbps FTTH Broadband to 75,000 Urban Premises

The “hyper-sonic” 1000Mbps (Megabits per second) capable broadband ISP Hyperoptic has announced that their Fibre-To-The-Building/Home (FTTB/H) network has almost reached 75,000 premises in the UK cities of Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Cardiff (Wales), Bristol, Reading and London. In addition, the network has just expanded to include Newcastle, Sheffield, Birmingham and Nottingham.

Hyeroptic initially focused the first stage of their life on rolling out services to large buildings (e.g. Multi-Dwelling Units) in London, but since the start of 2014 they’ve begun to expand into a further seven cities across the United Kingdom (Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Bristol, Cardiff, Reading and Glasgow) and most of that is thanks to last year’s investment of £50 million by Quantum Strategic Partners (here).

The ever growing pace of development means that Hyperoptic are now starting to make good progress towards their first goal of covering around 80,000 premises (premises passed) by the end of 2014 and 500,000 by 2018. As a result the operator has confirmed that their network is now almost within reach of around 75,000 premises (at 480 sites), which is up sharply from 35,000 in February 2014.

In other words the pace of deployment has dramatically improved and they now look set to achieve their first target, especially with today’s addition of Newcastle, Sheffield, Birmingham and Nottingham to their roll-out plans (a total of 12 cities across the United Kingdom).

Dana Tobak, Managing Director of Hyperoptic, said:

“Our mission is to provide a true fibre infrastructure, which empowers residents to future-proof their online lives. In today’s age, broadband should be an enabler, not a hindrance. A fast, consistent, dependable fibre connection is now essential for entertainment, socialising and work.

With symmetrical gigabit speeds, you can be guaranteed that you can enjoy the best of what the internet has to offer. As a result, the reception to our products and services has been phenomenal. We remain committed to expand our footprint and availability across the UK.”

Ed Vaizey, Communications Minister, added:

“Government is fully aware of the tremendous contribution that companies such as Hyperoptic are making to the UK’s Internet industry. Cutting-edge technology is the foundation for growth and innovation and today’s announcement is fantastic news for Newcastle, Sheffield, Birmingham and Nottingham.”

The ISP notes that its also developed partnerships with “forward-thinking” property developers, including Barratt London, St George and Regis Group plc, which is helping to fuel the rapid expansion of Hyperoptic’s footprint across the UK. Jim Anderson, Project Director of Barratt London, said: “[We are] committed to providing residents with world-class connectivity, and with fibre-to-the-premises from Hyperoptic on our development it shows our commitment to our customers, and the need to continually evolve.”

Hyperoptic originally only targeted MDU developments with 80 units or more, but today the ISP can install services to developments as small as 50 units, which makes “gigabit speeds a reality to many more residents“.