Can I get Hyperoptic?

Hyperoptic is only available at select urban apartment buildings. In early 2019 it was limited to various postcodes in around 30 cities, covering 400,000 homes.

Plans are in place to increase coverage, but chances are you'll have to wait until you can get it. Hyperoptic should be available in half a million homes by the end of 2019, two million homes by 2022, and some five million homes by 2027.

Hyperoptic's hyperfast gigabit broadband uses a technology called fibre to the building (FTTB) where a full fibre optic link is taken into the basement of an apartment building, this is then distributed to the apartments within the building using a high speed network, either using ethernet or fibre links, depending on the nature of the building. Residents of the building can then connect to the high speed network using an network faceplate installed within their home, either connecting their computer directly with network cable or using the supplied Hyperhub.

To find out if your building has been hooked up to Hyperoptic's network, use our postcode checker. Please note, in some limited cases more than one building will be in the same postcode area or your building may still be in the pre-order phase, if this is the case then the Hyperoptic site will confirm availability before you sign up.

Hyperoptic's standard installation fee for a faceplate is £200, with standard broadband activation charged at £40. Thanks to ongoing promotions, the installation fee is almost never chargable if your installation is straight forward, you don't wish to move an existing faceplate, or place your new faceplate away from your front door. Activation is usually only charged when you opt for a monthly rolling contract rather than a 12 month contract term.

Property developers within Hyperoptic areas can apply to have their buildings upgraded to bring gigabit fibre to their tenants, so if other buildings in your area have Hyperoptic already, talk to your property manager about the possibility of an upgrade. If they know that there's demand in the building, they may be more likely to invest in hyperfast broadband. You can also register your interest on the Hyperoptic website. Buildings with the highest customer demand get the lowest installation costs, and they also get connected before anyone else.

What packages are available?

Hyperoptic offer three core broadband packages:

• 1Gb Fibre Broadband - among the fastest broadband deals you can get in the UK. The average speed is 900Mb - and that's upload as well as download speed. The service is fully unlimited
• 500Mb Fibre Broadband - a robust service that is more than enough for the average family. Upload speeds are also 500Mb
• 150Mb Fibre Broadband - the mid-range offering has an average download and upload speed of 150Mb, with is still faster than many UK providers can offer. It's an unlimited service
• 50Mb Fibre Broadband - the entry-level service has an average speed of 50Mb for downloads, and 5Mb for uploads, all unlimited. This is more in line with entry-level fibre packages from other providers

All of these packages come with truly unlimited usage without traffic shaping or throttling, or any restrictions based on the type of traffic or the time of day. However, there is an excessive usage policy, meaning you could be warned or have your service suspended if you use an excessively large amount of data, to the material detriment of other customers.

As Hyperoptic's service is based on full fibre optic to the building and high speed ethernet or fibre networks within the building, there's no slow downs from copper telephone lines, so the advertised maximum protocol speeds tend to be very close to what you'll actually get, as the very high average speeds show. Most gigabit customers get an average speed of at least 95% of what was advertised, with the median speak at peak hours a whopping 900Mb, with any slowdowns caused by limitations in their devices, the speeds of web servers on the Internet or the links beyond Hyperoptic's servers on the way to the site they're visiting.

Hyperoptic doesn't use a copper phone line, so you don't need one connected to your home if you don't want a landline. In turn, this means you don't need to pay line rental. If you do want a traditional line you can get one installed from a separate provider. If you'd rather get everything from Hyperoptic you can add an optional phone bundle to your broadband contract, with plans starting from only around £3 to £6 extra per month. However, this is a voice-over IP service which uses your broadband connection to make and receive calls. It won't work during power outages or other broadband outages although, for an addition one of £25 charge, Hyperoptic will provide a backup battery that should keep your phone working during most power outages.

Which package should I choose?

An important first question to ask yourself is do you need hyperfast speeds, or would ultrafast symmetric broadband meet all your household's needs?

If you're a light user who doesn't do much uploading (such as sharing photos and videos on social media, or syncing or backing up your devices to the cloud) then the 50Mb downloads and 5Mb uploads package may meet all your needs while saving money compared to the other packages. These speeds are similar to what are on offer through other providers' basic fibre deals. It's likely to be good enough for most homes.

If you have a busy household or you make use of cloud backup or syncing, are a vlogger, social networker or content creator, you're likely to want the speed of 150Mb or 1Gb connections. Not only do they offer vastly superior download speeds, but their upload speeds are among the best on the market.

150Mb download is usually fast enough the even very active households, and the 150Mb uploads mean cloud sync and backup, or video sharing on sites like YouTube, is faster than on any competitor's network. The 150Mb package is likely to be a significant upgrade even from an asymmetric fibre service like BT Superfast Fibre 2. However if you want the very fastest connection possible, the 1Gb symmetric gigabit hyperfast broadband is unbeatable.

Points to consider before you choose

• Is speed a priority for you?
• Can your computer or other devices actually handle speeds of 1Gb (needs a 2GHz or faster processor and an up to date network card)? If not, opt for 150Mb
• Do you have a busy household or make a lot of use of HD or better video services?
• Do you upload photos or videos, or make use of cloud sync and backup services like DropBox, iCloud or SkyDrive?
• Do you need a phone line to your home or could you make do with just mobile phones for voice?
• If you need a phone line, would Hyperoptic's voice-over-broadband phone service work for you, or do you need a phone line that works when your power or broadband is down?

Compare all Hyperoptic deals

What do I get when I sign-up?

It's always good to know upfront what you'll get when signing up with an ISP so you know what you can enjoy for free, or to budget for any extras you may want.

• Hyperhub wireless router - New customers receive an AC-rated wireless router that's fast enough to deliver your broadband at top speed. You can also connect up your own router, if you prefer. The Hyperhub is required if you need to use Hyperoptic's phone service, but can also be connected to a separate wireless router or network switch.
• 24/7 customer service - Hyperoptic's telephone customer service and technical support is available 24/7 to help with any queries or problems you may have, this is a national rate number but free from a Hyperoptic phoneline. You can also raise technical support tickets using Hyperoptic's website or live chat 24 hours a day on weekdays or between 9am and 5pm on weekends.

What are the benefits of Hyperoptic?

The benefits offered by an ISP may be what seals the deal in your decision to buy a package from them.

• Unbeatable gigabit speed - With hyperfast 900Mb-average speeds available, few other providers comes close to matching Hyperoptic. As of early 2019, 900Mb is nearly 30 times faster than the UK average broadband speed, 13 times faster than a fibre to the cabinet deal (such as those from BT), and nearly three times faster than what Virgin offer.
• Incredible upload speed - On Hyperoptic's 1Gb and 150Mb deals, upload speed is the same as download speed, this is in sharp contrast to competitors who may offer upload speeds of less that 10% of download.
• Cheaper options available - Most households don't need 900Mb broadband speeds. You can save money with the symmetric 150Mb option, or even the 50Mb deal. Just beware of the much slower upload speeds on that package.
• Short contracts - Hyperoptic is available on a choice of 12 month or 30-day rolling contracts. You'll pay more for the latter but it's a good choice if you're planning to move in the near future. After all, with Hyperoptic's limited coverage, it's unlikely you'll be able to connect in your next home.
• No landline needed - Hyperoptic comes into your building via fibre optic cable, and into your home via an ethernet network faceplate, products can be bought stand alone with no landline at all, or paired with someone else's line rental and call plan through your separate copper phone line.
• Phone bundles available - Hyperoptic can provide good value voice-over-broadband phone services with competitively priced phone bundles starting from only £3 to £6 extra per month, plus for £5 more you get discounted calls to 50 international destinations at any time of day. Your free Hyperhub router has a voice port that will allow you to connect a standard telephone handset.
• Future proofed - Hyperoptic use full fibre to your apartment building, allowing them to increase broadband speeds as technology or demand progresses. Their building networks can support much higher speeds than are currently offered, or upgraded as needed. Hyperoptic have already planned an upgrade to 10Gb connections once technical and customer demand requires it.
• Improves property prices - If your building and home have been hooked up to the Hyperoptic network this can produce a sizeable value increase when selling your home, especially if surrounding properties have poor broadband speeds.

What are the drawbacks of Hyperoptic?

Let's face it, not everything can be perfect, and even the best deals may have a downside.

• Very limited availability - Hyperoptic is only available in a limited number of (mostly upmarket) apartment blocks in a limited number of postcodes in a limited number of cities. Even if it's available in the building across the street from you, it doesn't mean you'll be able to get it yourself.
• Non-standard installation can be expensive - If you have non-standard requirements for installation, such as moving an existing faceplate or placing the faceplate far from from your front door, you may be liable for the full £200 standard installation fee, or at least an additional installation extension servic
• Computer or device upgrades may be needed - If you don't have a more recent network card, or have a slower processor, you may need to upgrade your computer to enjoy full gigabit speeds. 150Mb should work on older computers though. To achieve the full gigabit speeds you'll need to use a wired connection, and if you want to achieve wireless speeds over 130Mb, your devices will need to support 802.11ac wireless protocols, which can exclude older mobiles, tablets and games consoles.
• No copper phone line during outages - Hyperoptic's telephone services work over your broadband connection, meaning they won't work if you have a power cut or broadband outage. This may not be a problem, and can be mitigated by paying £25 for the battery backup option, but be aware that you may have to rely on your mobile phone to make emergency calls, or separately maintain a copper phone connection if continuous phone line availability is critical.
• Excessive usage policy - Although Hyperoptic's broadband is unlimited and unthrottled, only using traffic management to prioritise telephone calls, their fair usage policy states that if you make such excessive use of their services that other customers' connections are detrimentally affected, then you may be given a written warning or even have your service suspended or terminated. Their terms and conditions also define a number of stringent 'content standards' that prohibit use of your connection for activities such as deceiving, impersonating or annoying any person, which some users may consider too restrictive.