Hyperoptic to deliver 1 Gbps broadband to 5,400 Sheffield council houses

Hyperoptic has reached an agreement to expand its gigabit-capable full fibre (FTTP) service to cover 5,400 houses in Sheffield City Council’s housing portfolio. Currently, Hyperoptic’s service is deployed to around 3,500 private homes across Sheffield, meaning that the new agreement with the city council brings its coverage in the city up to 8,900.

The provider, which has been present in Sheffield since 2015, says that the deployment across the social housing stock will begin “in the coming months”. Once completed, social housing tenants, primarily in large urban apartment blocks, will be able to access Hyperoptic’s full gigabit service, as well as its 500 Mbps, 150 Mbps and 50 Mbps packages.

Hyperoptic’s National Head of Business Development John McCabe commented: "Councils have got a very important role to play in expediting the rollout of full fibre across Britain. We are working with 50 forward-thinking councils across the UK and we are thrilled to add Sheffield Council to this list. Enabling residents to have the best Internet experience goes a long way to bridging the digital divide."

Meanwhile, Paul Wood, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods and Community Safety, Sheffield City Council, added: "As we increasingly become a digital-first council, we recognise that it’s important for our constituents to have access to the best digital infrastructure available.”

“Hyperoptic is renowned for working with councils and we have been impressed with its approach and delivery plan. This will make a real difference to the lives of our social housing tenants and leaseholders and we are pleased to be able to achieve it without any cost to the taxpayer."

Currently, Hyperoptic’s network covers in excess of 400,000 premises across the UK and the company has previously outlined ambitions to extend coverage to 2 million premises by the end of 2021, followed by 5 million premises by the end of 2024.