Hyperoptic Expands 1Gbps FTTP Broadband To 7 More Towns And Cities

Hyperoptic is bringing fibre to the premise (FTTP) broadband to seven more UK towns and cities, bringing the total number of locations that can receive its 1Gbps service to 20.

Portsmouth, Watford, Leicester, Southampton, Slough, Edinburgh and Woking are the new areas covered, jointing London, Cardiff, Bristol, Brighton, Reading, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield, Birmingham, Glasgow, Newcastle and Nottingham.

Networks in the new towns and cities are already live, with deployment prioritised for areas that have registered their interest.

Hyperoptic expansion

The majority of superfast broadband connections in the UK are served by Openreach’s fibre to the cabinet (FTTC) infrastructure, which uses copper cables for the final few hundred metres. Critics argue this is not futureproofing the UK against the anticipated growth in demand for data.

Hyperoptic is one of a number of companies building FTTP networks, which use fibre for the entirety of the connection, boosting speeds. Other providers of ‘alternative’ infrastructure include CityFibre, which wants to become a wholesale alternative to Openreach, and Gigaclear, which serves rural communities.

“We are committed to lead a step change in British broadband, setting a gold standard example for others to follow,” said Steve Holford, chief customer officer at Hyperoptic. “In Europe there are over 35.9 million FTTP subscribers – these users are getting the best out of the Internet and reaping the social and economic benefits.

“Digital leadership will not be achieved by sweating copper assets, but through innovative companies like ours increasing the availability of FTTP broadband. By expanding our footprint we are giving even more Brits the opportunity to experience the power of hyperfast broadband.”

BT has committed to deliver ‘ultrafast broadband’ to 12 million homes and businesses by 2020, using a combination of FTTP and G.Fast, which increases the speed of copper. Virgin Media will connect at least one million premises to FTTP as part of its £3 billion ‘Project Lightning’ network expansion programme.

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