Hyperoptic Launches 1Gbps Broadband In Liverpool As FTTP Network Goes Live

Parts of Liverpool can now receive 1Gbps broadband after Hyperoptic connected the first buildings to its Fibre to the Premise (FTTP) network in the city.

Five developments, including Hamilton House, Waterloo Warehouse, The Reach and X Building, are now covered, while Wapping Quay, Kings Dock Mill, Princes Dock and City Quay will soon be added.

The company says there are a further 16 developments currently undergoing installation and that it wants the network to cover the entire city by the end of the year.

Liverpool FTTP

“Hyperoptic is revolutionising broadband in Liverpool” boasted Tim Huxtable, national team manager at Hyperoptic. “We are investing millions in telecoms infrastructure to extend our footprint. The reception to our services has been phenomenal – the difference in experience is like chalk and cheese.”

According to Ofcom, the current average broadband speed in Liverpool is 19.3Mbps. Hyperoptic’s FTTP serve is 50 times faster, something which the Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, says will boost the city’s businesses.

“Hyperoptic’s offer helps transform us into a truly ‘Gig City’ and gives Liverpool a massive competitive edge,” he said. “We want to grow the scale and breadth of businesses in the digital sector and improving broadband speeds is essential  in allowing that to happen. It’s also the foundation for successful home-working and enabling the people of Liverpool to enjoy the best of what true fibre speeds have to offer.”

Gigabit expansion

Hyperoptic operates a number of FTTP networks across the country, reaching 100,000 properties.

FTTP offers faster speeds than the Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) technology, which currently accounts for the majority of the UK’s superfast broadband infrastructure, but uses copper for the final few hundred metres of a connection, meaning speeds can drop dramatically the further away a property is from an exchange.

Hyperoptic says just one percent of the UK can receive FTTP, a fraction of the estimated 80 percent that can receive superfast broadband. However rivals CityFibre, TalkTalk and Sky are working on rival FTTP infrastructure, while BT has plans to rollout speeds of 500Mbps using existing copper infrastructure thanks to G.Fast technology.

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