Full Fibre UK ISP Hyperoptic Adopt InvisiLight to Cut Rollout Costs

City-focused internet provider Hyperoptic, which is currently deploying 1Gbps capable “full fibre” (FTTP/B) broadband networks across large residential buildings (MDUs), office blocks and houses, has adopted InvisiLight technology from OFS to help cut the time and cost of retrofitting fibre into existing sites.

At present Hyperoptic’s gigabit fibre network is currently present in parts of 43 UK towns and cities across well over 400,000 premises, although they have previously expressed an ambition to cover 2 million UK premises by the end of 2021 and then 5 million come the end of 2024 (mostly in urban areas).

A lot of this work involves going into existing Multiple Dwelling Units (MDUs) and for the most part those can be upgraded for relatively little money, but this isn’t always the case and sometimes particular buildings could end up costing into the low tens of thousands. At which point the deployment may become unviable.

One partial solution to this is InvisiLight, which is a discreet way of deploying fibre as part of a retrofit for existing buildings, but this does mean running a fibre down walls and alongside skirting boards or coving (i.e. exposing it to greater risk of accidental damage). However, this approach can cut down on the need for things like power and trunking, which saves a lot of time and thus money.

The discreet cabling can used in both hallways and customer homes. Installing optical fibre horizontally on each floor can be extremely challenging, especially in buildings without existing duct, coving or free space. In these cases, the deployment options are limited to cutting and patching drywall to hide the fibre optic cables. This is a slow, expensive approach, which also requires more engineers.

Hyperoptic’s discreet cabling solves these challenges, as it can follow the natural line of an existing wall and is only 2mm in diameter. Any holes that require drilling can be positioned in a corner or ceiling duct, where they are less likely to be seen. No hatches or reinstatements are needed, and it can be applied with a tiny bead of adhesive – minimising the need for clips and fixings.

The cabling terminates above the customer’s door, with a small access box that allows installation teams to run a small connectorised fibre inside to connect the service. The in-home installation itself takes approximately 30-45 minutes. Inside the home, the discreet cabling can fit into tiny spaces and blend into the aesthetics of a resident’s home to maintain aesthetics.

Liam McAvoy, Hyperoptic’s MD of Business Development, said:

“Deploying fibre inside buildings can be difficult and expensive. Our new discreet service is fast to install, practically invisible, and can be surface-mounted in hallways and between floors, to seamlessly connect residents to our gigabit-enabled services.

We’re committed to providing a best-in-class service that enables us to go beyond the expected for our 250+ developer partners. By using this new discreet cabling, we’re taking our installation experience to the next level.”

Openreach (BT) have been using the same solution since 2019 to help tackle similar sites and our sources inform us that Hyperoptic first started using it in January 2021, although until today we haven’t been able to confirm that.

The operator informs us that this new system is expected to “increase the speed of service delivery [in MDUs] by up to 50%,” while also reducing in-building disruption. You can see a video of how this works below, although it’s for a slightly different solution from the MDU focused approach.