Glasgow joins UK Gigabit cities

Glasgow today joins the league of gigabit cities - Hyperoptic has switched on its gigabit broadband at Glasgow Harbour, an urban regeneration scheme in the heart of the city. A number of other developments are also undergoing installation.

Hyperoptic is the UK’s leading Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband provider. Because its fibre is delivered all the way into the building, customers don’t have to worry about peak-time slowdowns – they can finally connect to the Internet at advertised speeds. Hyperoptic has a range of business and residential packages, including 20Mbps, and symmetrical 100Mbps and gigabit (1,000Mbps) – with broadband-only services and contract free options also available.

Rod McKendrick, Resident, Glasgow Harbour, explains: “I have been counting the days to my Hyperoptic installation. Previously I would be lucky to get 3Mbps - it took months to backup my hard drive. The slow speeds hugely impacted my quality of life - streaming even standard definition TV was impossible.

“With hyperfast speeds comes limitless possibilities, I can enjoy a video on YouTube whenever I want, watch HD movies from across the globe - and other people can access my Internet at the same time without there being any degradation in the quality. It is just such a relief to finally have a service that works.”

Hyperoptic focuses on bringing its services into developments with 50 or more units. Installations are prioritised in buildings where there is greatest demand from the freeholder and residents.

Tim Huxtable, National Team Manager, Hyperoptic, comments: “Hyperoptic chose Glasgow as its first Scottish city because of it’s thriving digital scene and the strong demand from residents. We will be investing millions over the next couple of years in broadband infrastructure across Glasgow, with the aim of having thousands of residents and businesses connected within the next year.”

Welcoming Hyperoptic to the city, Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “I am very pleased to welcome Hyperoptic’s substantial investment in Glasgow’s digital infrastructure. The future-proofed fibre infrastructure that will be delivered will make a key contribution to our vision of Scotland having world-class digital connectivity by 2020.

“Hyperoptic’s investment will support Glasgow’s businesses and residents to access the modern digital infrastructure which is critical in supporting the wider transformation of the city, helping to attract new businesses, create jobs and support major regeneration. As Scotland’s largest city, Glasgow will have a unique selling point as one of the most prominent digitally connected locations anywhere in Europe. This will raise Glasgow’s profile and we strongly welcome Hyperoptic’s investment in Scotland.”