By Hyperoptic offers full fibre broadband from £17.99/month with download speeds of up to 1Gbps and a Hyperhub router.
In the UK, Hyperoptic is a specialist provider of full fibre broadband, offering download speeds between 30Mbps and 1Gbps (1,000Mbps). All of their broadband plans come with a Hyperhub router (either the Nokia Hyperhub or the ZTE Hyperhub). You’ll also get unlimited downloads and an optional home phone service.
Hyperoptic was founded in 2011 and is now available in around half a million homes across 43 UK towns and cities. The service is mainly available in large residential apartment blocks where Hyperoptic has worked with the developer or freeholder to make their service available.
In this article, we’ll review the Hyperoptic broadband service including the plans available, the download speeds and and the Hyperhub routers. We’ll also look at the availability of Hyperoptic’s network and at other full fibre broadband services if you’re not able to get it where you live.
Contents
Hyperoptic Broadband Overview
Hyperoptic offers full fibre broadband with plans from £17.99 per month and download speeds of up to 1Gbps.
| Prices From: | £17.99 per month |
|---|---|
| Contract Length: | 1 month, 12 months or 24 months |
| Download Speed: | 30Mbps, 50Mbps, 150Mbps, 500Mbps & 1Gbps |
| Technology: | Full Fibre |
| Router: | Nokia Hyperhub (500Mbps+ plans) ZTE Hyperhub (other plans) |
| Coverage: | 500,000+ homes in 43 UK towns and cities |
Hyperoptic Broadband Plans
In the UK, Hyperoptic offers full fibre broadband with average download speeds between 30Mbps and 1,000Mbps (1Gbps). The company offers a choice of five different plans, each one with a different download speed.
You’ll get the lowest monthly prices when you take Hyperoptic on a 24-month contract, with the exclusive 30Mbps deal available at £17.99/month. This increases up to £36/month if you want the fastest-available Hyperfast plan with speeds of up to 1,000Mbps.
| Service | Average Speed | Contract Length | Upfront Price | Monthly Price (may rise during contract) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Fast 30Mbps (24 months) | 30Mbps download | 24 month contract | £10 | £17.99/month |
Fast (24 months) | 50Mbps download | 24 month contract | £19 | £26/month |
Superfast (24 months) | 150Mbps download | 24 month contract | £19 | £30/month with 3 months free |
Ultrafast (24 months) | 500Mbps download | 24 month contract | £19 | £33/month with 3 months free |
Hyperfast (24 months) | 900Mbps download | 24 month contract | £19 | £36/month with 3 months free |
For a little more flexibility, you can choose a 12-month contract from Hyperoptic:
| Service | Average Speed | Contract Length | Upfront Price | Monthly Price (may rise during contract) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Fast 30Mbps (12 months) | 30Mbps download | 12 month contract | £10 | £19/month |
Fast (12 months) | 50Mbps download | 12 month contract | £19 | £27/month |
Superfast (12 months) | 150Mbps download | 12 month contract | £19 | £30/month |
Ultrafast (12 months) | 500Mbps download | 12 month contract | £19 | £33/month |
Hyperfast (12 months) | 900Mbps download | 12 month contract | £19 | £36/month |
They also offer one-month rolling plans, which can be useful (e.g. if you’re staying in a short-term rental).
| Service | Average Speed | Contract Length | Upfront Price | Monthly Price (may rise during contract) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Fast (1 month) | 50Mbps download | 1 month contract | £39 | £30/month |
Superfast (1 month) | 150Mbps download | 1 month contract | £39 | £40/month |
Ultrafast (1 month) | 500Mbps download | 1 month contract | £29 | £50/month |
Hyperfast (1 month) | 900Mbps download | 1 month contract | £29 | £60/month |
See all Hyperoptic Broadband Deals →
It costs an extra £2 to £3 per month to add a home phone service which comes with inclusive evening and weekend UK landline calls. There’s more information about this on the Hyperoptic website.
Hyperoptic Download Speeds
Hyperoptic is one of few UK internet service providers (ISPs) to offer full fibre broadband.
Full fibre services are different from other fibre broadband services which normally use fibre-to-the-cabinet technology (FTTC). With full fibre, the fibre optic connection extends all the way into your building. This means you can get faster speeds and a more reliable connection. For instance, the flagship Hyperfast plan (900Mbps-1Gbps) is around 15 times faster than a typical fibre-to-the-cabinet connection (67Mbps).
The download and upload speeds you’ll get on Hyperoptic depend on the price plan you choose:
- Fast (30Mbps) is an exclusive plan, available for just £17.99/month on a 12-month contract. It gives you average download speeds of 30Mbps and average upload speeds of 5Mbps.
- Fast (50Mbps) gives you average download speeds of 50Mbps and average upload speeds of 5Mbps.
- Superfast gives you average download and upload speeds of 150Mbps.
- Ultrafast gives you average download and upload speeds of 500Mbps.
- Hyperfast gives you average download and upload speeds of 900Mbps. The ‘up to’ speed is 1,000Mbps download and upload (1Gbps).
Besides Hyperoptic, it’s also possible to get gigabit speeds on services such as BT Full Fibre, Virgin Media’s Gig1 Broadband and Vodafone’s Gigafast Broadband. For more information, see our guide to full fibre broadband and superfast and ultrafast broadband in the UK.
Hyperoptic Routers
On Hyperoptic, you’ll get a free router to use for the duration of your plan. This will either be the Nokia Hyperhub which is their ‘premium router’ or it’ll be the ZTE Hyperhub which is their ‘standard router’.
At present:
- The Nokia Hyperhub is provided on the Ultrafast (500Mbps), Hyperfast (1Gbps) and business broadband plans.
- The ZTE Hyperhub is provided on the entry-level (30Mbps), Fast (50Mbps) and Superfast (150Mbps) broadband plans.
Nokia Hyperhub
You’ll get the Nokia Hyperhub premium router (Nokia HA-140W-B) when taking Hyperoptic’s Ultrafast (500Mbps) or Hyperfast (1Gbps) plan. It’s also included when you take business broadband from Hyperoptic.
The main benefit of the Nokia Hyperhub over the regular ZTE Hyperhub is the improved Wi-Fi performance you can expect on it. It supports dual-band Wi-Fi 5 technology with total transfer speeds of up to 2,920Mbps. This consists of 2,170Mbps on 5GHz Wi-Fi (from 4×4 MIMO) and 750Mbps on 2.4GHz Wi-Fi (from 3×3 MIMO).
The Nokia Hyperhub supports wi-fi band steering so your devices will automatically choose the optimum band for performance and speed. It also supports automatic channel optimisation to reduce interference and works with Nokia’s Mesh WiFi technology, allowing you to extend your network with a Nokia Beacon 1 or Nokia Beacon 3.
In addition to the Wi-Fi functionality, the Nokia Hyperhub has 4 Gigabit Ethernet sockets for connecting wired devices to your home network and 2 USB ports for connecting external storage and printers. There’s also an RJ11 phone port for plugging in a telephone.
You can find the manual for the Nokia Hyperhub and further information on the Hyperoptic website.
ZTE Hyperhub
The ZTE Hyperhub standard router (ZTE H298A) is provided on Hyperoptic’s 30Mbps, 50Mbps and 150Mbps broadband plans.
It supports dual-band Wi-Fi 5 technology (802.11ac) with maximum total transfer speeds of 1,167Mbps. This consists of 867Mbps on 5GHz Wi-Fi (from 2×2 MIMO) and 300Mbps on 2.4GHz Wi-Fi (also from 2×2 MIMO).
In addition to the Wi-Fi 5 connectivity, there’s also 4 Gigabit Ethernet sockets for connecting wired devices to your home network and 2 RJ11 ports for connecting a telephone. There’s also a USB 2.0 port which can be used for connecting external storage or a printer to your home network.
You can find the manual for the ZTE H298A Hyperhub on Hyperoptic’s website.
Comparison of Hyperhub Routers
The following table shows a side-by-side comparison of the Nokia Hyperhub and ZTE Hyperhub routers:
| Nokia Hyperhub (Hyperoptic Premium Router) |
ZTE Hyperhub (Hyperoptic Standard Router) |
|
|---|---|---|
|
|
|
| Availability | ||
| Hyperoptic Plans: | Ultrafast (500Mbps) Hyperfast (1Gbps) Business |
Fast (30Mbps) Fast (50Mbps) Superfast (150Mbps) |
| Connectivity | ||
| Dual-Band Wi-Fi: | Yes | Yes |
| Wi-Fi Connectivity: | 802.11b/g/n/ac | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac |
| Wi-Fi Speed: | Up to 2,920Mbps total | Up to 1,167Mbps total |
| 2.4GHz Wi-Fi: | 3×3 MIMO (up to 750Mbps) | 2×2 MIMO (up to 300Mbps) |
| 5GHz Wi-Fi | 4×4 MIMO (up to 2,170Mbps) | 2×2 MIMO (up to 867Mbps) |
| Ethernet: | 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports | 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports |
| Phone: | 1 RJ11 phone port | 2 RJ11 phone ports |
| USB ports: | 2 USB 2.0 ports | 1 USB 2.0 port |
| Other: | Wi-Fi Band Steering & Optimisation Nokia Mesh Wi-Fi Support |
DECT |
| Other | ||
| Model: | Nokia HA-140W-B | ZTE H298A |
| Colour: | White | White |
| More Information: | Hyperoptic Website | Hyperoptic Website |
Regardless of the router you get, Hyperoptic will send an engineer to install it for you after you sign up for the service. As part of this, they’ll need to drill a small hole above the front door of your property through which they’ll run a small cable. A Hyperoptic socket will then be fitted at the end of that cable along with the Hyperhub router that’s included in your plan.
Further information about the installation process can be found on Hyperoptic’s website.
Download Limits
All of Hyperoptic’s home broadband plans have unlimited data so there shouldn’t be any limits on how much you can download or upload. The system may, however, flag excessive users of the service. In this case, a warning message may be sent to you asking you to reduce your usage of the service.
This can be seen in Hyperoptic’s acceptable usage policy:
We don’t have a traffic management policy, although we may choose to use one in the future (with or without notice). But our system does flag excessive use and if we believe that your use of the internet, our Network or Services is so excessive that other customers’ Services are being harmed, then we may give you a written warning (by email or otherwise) to reduce your use. If you don’t do this, we may suspend or end your Services.
Coverage
In the UK, Hyperoptic currently offers full fibre broadband to more than 500,000 homes across 43 UK towns and cities.
Locations with premises covered by Hyperoptic include Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Peterborough, Reading, Sheffield, Southampton, Swansea and York.
Where Hyperoptic is different from other home broadband services is they’re normally only available in larger residential apartment blocks. They work with freeholders and new build developers to offer their service in apartment buildings, with Hyperoptic’s online coverage map showing a list of available locations.
Check Hyperoptic Coverage (hyperoptic.com) →
According to Hyperoptic, they’re aiming to cover 2 million homes by the end of 2021 and 5 million homes by the end of 2025.
If you’re looking for full fibre broadband but are currently unable to get Hyperoptic in your home, you can check to see whether BT’s Full Fibre service is available (uses the Openreach network) or Vodafone’s Gigafast service (uses the Cityfibre network). Alternatively, Virgin Media’s Gig1 service can offer gigabit download speeds using cable instead of full fibre technology.
Frequently Asked Questions
| What download speeds and plans are available on Hyperoptic? | On Hyperoptic, it’s possible to choose from a range of download speeds between 30Mbps and 1Gbps. Prices start from £17.99 per month for Hyperoptic’s cheapest broadband plan, increasing to £36/month if you want the Hyperfast plan with gigabit speeds. |
|---|---|
| What’s the cheapest Hyperoptic broadband plan? | Hyperoptic’s cheapest broadband plan costs £17.99 per month and has average download speeds of 30Mbps. This is roughly equivalent to the speed of a basic fibre broadband connection from rival providers (albeit, you’ll still benefit from a lower monthly price and the improved reliability of the full fibre technology used by Hyperoptic). |
| Which Hyperhub router will I get on Hyperoptic? | On Hyperoptic, you’ll get one of two Hyperhub broadband routers:
|
| What’s the difference between the Nokia Hyperhub and the ZTE Hyperhub? | The Nokia Hyperhub is Hyperoptic’s new premium router. It offers better Wi-Fi performance compared to the regular Hyperhub with total transfer speeds of up to 2,920Mbps. This made possible by the use of 7 Wi-Fi antenna. The standard ZTE Hyperhub only supports up to 1,167Mbps on Wi-Fi. This is because it only has 4 Wi-Fi antenna. In addition, the Nokia Hyperhub has automatic Wi-Fi band steering as well as support for Nokia Beacon mesh wi-fi technology. |
| Where is Hyperoptic broadband available? | The Hyperoptic broadband service is available in more than 500,000 homes across 43 UK towns and cities. Their service is mainly available in larger residential apartment blocks that have been linked up to the Hyperoptic network. |
More Information
For more information, please see the official Hyperoptic website.
Beedicus said:
The customer service from Hyperoptic is terrible, it has taken me six weeks from hardware installation to actually getting activated and up and running on the service, and even then I have had multiple issues to iron out, such as a replacement router and figuring out how to install the wifi boosters. Happily this is now done, and the speeds are definitely better than my prior provider (Virgin) with prices that are much lower. However, it has been a very painful journey to set it up. In summary, speeds good, customer service bad.
Manuela said:
My experience with Hyperoptic customer service has been amazing , I was actually impressed . It may all be down to good or bad luck maybe . Be aware anyway that you have a 14 days right of cancellation for every contract by law I would be surprised they would not respect that
Andre said:
Hyperoptic is not customer-focused so be careful when you sign up. I’ve asked for a speed upgrade which locked me for 12months. I received and read the fine print after a couple of hours of changing the service and I wanted to go back to the previous package because I didn’t agree with the T&C but they didn’t let me. I’m escalating this to consumer rights, but at this point, all I want is to get rid of them.