Compare Hyperoptic broadband
Dan Howdle
In this guide
What is Hyperoptic broadband?
Hyperoptic broadband offers some of the fastest download and upload speeds in the UK, with speeds up to 1Gbps (1000Mbps). This is very fast, but Gigabit internet has come a long way since Hyperoptic first entered the market. Gigabit connections are now available to 47% of UK homes, a huge increase over just three or four years ago. However, like many providers offering Gigabit connections, Hyperoptic is mostly available in large towns and cities.
Hyperoptic installed its first 1 gigabit service in Wandsworth, London, in 2011, and since then the provider has been rolling out its service to most large cities across the UK. Take a look at our Hyperoptic broadband review to find out more about the service.
Why choose Hyperoptic?
- Gigabit broadband – This is sometimes called ‘ultrafast’ broadband, but since that term describes any connection over 300Mbps, ‘gigabit’ is more apt. A gigabit is 1,000Mbps, or 1Gbps. This is the top speed advertised by Hyperoptic, though Hyperoptic states users should expect an average speed of 900Mbps. Take a look at our guide to gigabit broadband for more information.
- Symmetrical connection – All broadband providers except Hyperoptic offer upload speeds that are in some cases a mere fraction of their advertised upload speeds. Not so with Hyperoptic, which offers identical upload and download speeds. This can be very useful for cloud computing, broadcasting live video, working remotely where large files are being shared, hosting a server and many small business applications.
- Choice of contract length – Customers can choose between 24-month, 12-month or rolling one-month contracts, with cheaper prices for the longer periods. All the one-month contracts have activation fees of up to £39.
- No landline necessary – Hyperoptic offers the option to choose broadband without a landline. This is an increasing trend, though some other providers still require you to take a landline.
- Good customer service reputation – Hyperoptic has a high customer rating on Trustpilot of any popular provider in the UK – currently 4.6/5 which compares very favourably to BT with 1.6/5 and even Virgin Media with 2.0/5
- 24/7 customer support – You’ll get tech support at any time of the day or night, throughout the week.
What does Hyperoptic offer?
Beyond its Fibre To The Property offering, Hyperoptic isn’t all that unusual in the packages it offers, although you won’t find any bundles with things like subscription TV services or mobile SIMs. Though when it comes to price, Hyperoptic has some excellent deals. Hyperoptic currently offers 24 months of 1Gbps broadband for just £35 per month, which is considerably cheaper than its competition (The price goes up to £60 per month after the 24-month period, but that is also true of the competition). In addition, Hyperoptic will not raise the price of your package during your contract.
- Superfast broadband – Both of Hyperoptic’s ‘slower’ packages fit the description of ‘superfast’ – faster than 30Mbps, but slower than 300Mbps. Those packages clock in at 50Mbps and 150Mbps.
- Gigabit (ultrafast) broadband – Ultrafast is defined as broadband with speeds of over 300Mbps. Hyperoptic broadband advertises speeds of 1Gbps (1,000Mbps), although this averages at around 900Mbps – which is still ludicrously quick.
- Home phone – You can choose to include a landline with your package, but you also have the option to opt out of this and pay a lower monthly bill.
Why do I need ultrafast broadband?
A lot of people are going to plump for the Hyperoptic broadband 1Gbps package if it is available where they live, but just how fast is that, and do you really need it? Below is a look at what you can do with 1000Mbps – and you might also want to take a look at our guide to choosing the broadband speed that’s right for you .
- Download huge games in no time –A typical Xbox game of 50GB in size can be downloaded in 6 minutes and 40 seconds.
- Broadcast video at high resolutions – If you stream on Twitch or YouTube, Hyperoptic’s symmetrical speeds mean you can do so in 4K with a barely perceptible impact on your connection.
- Stream 4K content to multiple screens – Streaming content like movies and TV series in 4K resolution (UHD) can take up to 50Mbps per TV. With 1000Mbps at your disposal, you could stream at this quality on 20 screens at once.
