UK 1Gbps fibre service set for September launch

Startup ISP Hyperoptic has announced that it will be launching a 1Gbps fibre optic service in the UK in September. The service is a full fibre-to-the-premises offering and will offer symmetrical 1Gbps speeds for download and upload.

The service will be available in urban areas and aimed at businesses and residential customers looking for high performance. As well as regular internet access, Hyperoptic will also offer VoIP and IPTV services as part of its packages. It has yet to reveal local pricing, but has three suggested tiered packages, offering 20Mb, 100Mb or 1Gb.

All packages come with an unlimited data cap, subject to a fair usage policy, and come with a static IPv4 address and an IPv6 address, as well as a bundled router and free UK-based phone support.

The fastest competing commercially available broadband package currently available in the UK is Virgin Media’s 100Mb service, which uses a Hybrid infrastructure of fibre to a cabinet and coaxial to the premises.

The chairman of the Hyperoptic team is Boris Ivanovic, who launched Be Broadband, the UK’s first ADSL2+  service, in 2006, which was sold 18 months later to the Telefónica’s UK arm O2.

““Pushing the boundaries of online connection speed is a passion of mine,” said Ivanovic, in a statement. “Consumers, especially in the UK, simply accept that their online connection is not as fast as the package they buy into. For the Hyperoptic team this is not acceptable. We want to open people’s minds to the future beyond broadband and enable them to connect, explore and be satisfied – our technology will not disappoint”.