Hyperoptic Deploy 1Gbps Broadband to 25 of Newcastle’s Social Housing Sites

The Newcastle City Council has today announced that Hyperoptic have been chosen to supply their 1Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises / Building (FTTP/B) based ultrafast broadband network to 25 of the local authority’s social housing developments. The roll-out is already underway.

Apparently the ISP’s fibre optic network has already reached 1,180 council homes and once complete it’s anticipated that some 5,000 properties in will have been covered, including in the developments of Todds Nook, Vallum Court, Westgate Court, King Charles Tower, Pandon Court and Lort House, plus many more.

The agreement is not the first that Hyperoptic has signed. Over the last year they’ve also started to work in partnership with other councils and housing associations to enable digital inclusion by providing full fibre broadband to tenants at little to no cost to the council (e.g. Hyde Housing and directly with Salford Council, Nottingham Council and Thurrock Council).

Councillor Jane Streather, Housing and Public Health, said:

“In the world we live in today good quality, high speed broadband can be the key to success when it comes to education, employment and social inclusion. As more and more services go online we recognise that providing ultrafast, reliable and affordable broadband is an essential part of our drive to increase digital inclusion.

By working in partnership with Hyperoptic, whose gold standard services have been tried and tested by other councils, we know our tenants will receive the best Internet experience possible in the UK today.”

Tim Huxtable, Regional Director of Hyperoptic, added:

“Public services are becoming digital by choice. We are equipping and enabling social housing tenants to access these services in the best way possible – with an Internet connection that helps rather than hinders, and will stand the test of time as technology advances. Social housing is a strategic priority for us – the public sector has a huge role to play in fulfilling the vision of a full fibre UK and bridging the digital divide.”

The announcement follows last week’s news, which revealed that Hyperoptic had managed to raise another £100 million and planned to extend their network to cover 2 million urban homes by 2022 and then possibly up to 5 million by 2025 (here); so far they’ve already covered 350,000+ premises.

Customers typically choose from either a broadband (20Mbps, 100Mbps or 1Gbps) and phone bundle or a broadband-only service on a 12 month contract (the latter attracts a £40 one-off connection fee). You can also get a “no contract” option of both, although this usually costs an extra +£2-£4 per month. Some social housing deployments may also include a special bespoke package for those on low incomes.

All of Hyperoptic’s packages include unlimited usage, 24/7 support, an included wireless router and a dynamic IP address (CGNAT) or £5 for a Static IP. Standard prices start at about £19 per month.