Edinburgh residents embrace arrival of gigabit broadband

1,000Mbps (gigabit) broadband – the fastest broadband speed in the UK – has been switched on at Platinum Point, a prestigious development on the Firth of Forth in Newhaven, Edinburgh. Nearly half of the residents have already subscribed to the lightening fast service from Hyperoptic, the UK’s leading Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband provider.

Hyperoptic announced that it would be coming to Edinburgh in May as part of its national expansion plan. Other installations are taking place in buildings across the city. Hyperoptic will be investing millions in broadband infrastructure across Edinburgh over the next couple of years, with the aim of connecting hundreds of thousands of residents and businesses over the next couple of years.

Gerry Rooney, Chair of the Platinum Point Owners Association, comments: “We were thrilled to hear the news that Hyperoptic was coming to Edinburgh – having a company install world-leading broadband connectivity for no cost was an absolute no-brainer for us. Apart from the fact that we would get access to the best broadband in the UK, there were wider benefits – our development is digitally future-proofed for decades to come and it enhances the marketability of each home.”

Hyperoptic’s symmetrical gigabit broadband speeds are enabled because it installs fibre all the way into the building, eliminating the copper weak link that slows down the mainstream Fibre-to-the-Cabinet services. As well as setting a new standard in broadband speeds, Hyperoptic is also pioneering a new approach to the provision of broadband services, with a “No Contract” option and range of broadband-only services.

The arrival of Hyperoptic in Edinburgh represents a fundamental shift in how resident consumers and businesses will be able to use the Internet – the average download speed in Edinburgh is 22.9Mbps, according to thinkbroadband data. Many residents experience even slower speeds in reality. According to tests conducted by thinkbroadband, in the first quarter of 2016, 25% of broadband users had to endure a download speed of 6.7Mbps.

Welcoming Hyperoptic to Edinburgh, Connectivity Secretary Fergus Ewing said: “We want Scotland to become a world class digital nation. A key part of this is future-proofing our digital infrastructure and that is why we have committed to providing superfast broadband to 100% of premises in Scotland by 2021. Commercial investment will play a huge part in delivering this commitment, and I welcome Hyperoptic’s announcement that Edinburgh businesses and residents are now able to benefit from gigabit broadband – the fastest broadband speed available in the UK.”

Tim Huxtable, National Team Manager, Hyperoptic, comments: “The feedback following our announcement that we were coming to Edinburgh has been phenomenal – there is a huge appetite for our gigabit connectivity, which is over 128 times faster than traditional ASDL speeds. As a nation we are becoming evermore reliant on fast and reliable access to the Internet; buffering and peak time slowdowns just get more frustrating and its well documented that people would now actively avoid moving into a property with slow speeds. When a building has Hyperoptic it is a real point of difference – the developers we work with are all thrilled with resident feedback. Once a resident goes Hyperoptic they never want to go back!”