Hyperoptic UK ISP Revamps to Boost Full Fibre Broadband Speeds by 50%

UK ISP Hyperoptic, which is rolling out a 1Gbps Fibre-to-the-Building (FTTP/B) broadband network in 28 UK cities and towns, has announced that their 20Mbps and 100Mbps packages will from tomorrow see a free 50% speed boost. On top of that they’ve also given their branding a new lick of paint.

The change means that their current entry-level unlimited 20Mbps package will increase to 30Mbps (1Mbps upload), while the 100Mbps option will jump to 150Mbp (symmetric upload). However there’s no change to their top 1Gbps service, which to be fair doesn’t require a speed boost and probably won’t need one for a long time to come.

The pricing remains unchanged and customers are still able to choose from either a broadband 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, but this usually costs an extra +£2-£4 per month.

All of Hyperoptic’s packages include unlimited usage, 24/7 support, a wireless router and dynamic IP address (CGNAT) or £5 for a Static IP.

Bundles

30Mb Fibre Broadband & Phone
Price: £19 a month for 12 months (£25 thereafter)

150Mb Fibre Broadband & Phone
Price: £29 a month for 12 months (£38 thereafter)

1Gb Fibre Broadband & Phone
Price: £49 a month for 12 months (£63 thereafter)

Standalone

30Mb Fibre Broadband Only
Price: £18 a month for 12 months (£22 thereafter)

150Mb Fibre Broadband Only
Price: £28 a month for 12 months (£35 thereafter)

1Gb Fibre Broadband Only
Price: £48 a month for 12 months (£60 thereafter)

On top of those changes Hyperoptic has also moved to “reinvigorate” their branding, which means that their logo and engineering vans are now sporting a new visual style. Hyperoptic told us that the spirit of their brand is being captured by a “manifesto” that promises to “put an end to broadband bottlenecks (derived from using old copper-based technology)” and to deliver fibre broadband “once and for all.”

Steve Holford, Hyperoptic’s Chief Customer Officer, said:

“Our goal is both bold and simple – to lead a new category in broadband. This will firmly place Hyperoptic as the challenger brand to the so-called ‘big three’ of BT, Sky Broadband, and Virgin Media. All three of those companies have been guilty of advertising their services as ‘fibre’ when they simply provide fibre to the street cabinet.

Because our fibre runs right to the building, our speeds run over 3x faster than Virgin Media and 13x than BT and Sky. That’s the Hyperoptic difference.”

The announcement follows only a few months after the ISP confirmed that they had secured a huge additional investment of £100 million from a consortium of four major European banks (BNP Paribas, ING, RBS and Dutch investment bank NIBC), which is set to help fuel a major network expansion beyond their original target of 500,000 premises passed by the end of 2019 (they’ve already completed c.350,000).

Under the new plan Hyperoptic hopes to expand their network footprint towards a target of 2 million UK premises passed by 2022 and possibly 5 million (aspiration) by 2025 (here).

UPDATE 10:44am

Feedback suggests that existing customers may need to re-contract in order to get the new speed upgrade.