Press Release
Thurrock Council today announces that it has joined the gigabit revolution.
Thousands of its Thurrock social housing tenants will soon have access to superfast gigabit broadband – 1,000 Mbps.
Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Housing, Cllr Rob Gledhill at Thurrock Council said: “We are very pleased to be teaming up with Hyperoptic to help every resident in council accommodation have the same access the fastest broadband speed available in the UK today, as those living in private properties.
“It is fantastic that Thurrock is one of the first councils in the South of England to take this forward but I can assure residents the taxpayer is not funding this project but it has supported Hyperoptic develop an affordable package to areas which are highly populated in a bid to keep hundreds of Thurrock residents better connected.”
Hyperoptic, the UK’s leading Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband provider, is enabling the connectivity. Hyperoptic is already available to consumers and businesses across 20 UK cities. Over the last year Hyperoptic has also focused on partnering with Councils to support their digital inclusion initiatives by providing them with the nation’s leading full fibre service.
Hyperoptic will initially be making its services available to 1,700 tenants across 12 of its developments.
Installation is expected to start in the summer of 2017 and will be prioritised by resident demand across the following buildings:
Arthur Toft, George Crooks and Lionel Oxley House
Bevan and Morrison House
Brisbane, Freemantle and Tasmania House
Butler, Davall and Greenwood House
Chieftan Drive
Clayburn Gardens
Cranell Green
George Tilbury, Gooderham and Poole House
Keir Hardie House
Marine and River Court
Perth House
Seabrooke Rise
Because Hyperoptic installs its fibre all the way into building, and delivers its services via its own dedicated fibre network, it can enable its gigabit speeds, which are 128 times faster than traditional ADSL services.
Users can connect to the Internet at advertised speeds and never have to worry about peak-time slowdowns.
Residents will be able to choose from a number of its affordable broadband and landline packages, including Hyperoptic’s full gigabit service, or a 100Mbps or 20Mbps service – all of which can be ordered on a contract-free basis, without any need for credit checks.
Hyperoptic will also be offering Thurrock Council’s residents its bespoke entry-level product, “Fibre Light,” which at £9 a month for a 5Mbps broadband-only service is, by far, the UK’s cheapest broadband-only service.
Steve Holford, Chief Customer Officer, Hyperoptic: “For digital inclusion programmes to succeed the priority must be the provision of ultrafast, reliable and affordable broadband – unfettered Internet connectivity removes barriers and enables limitless possibilities. Our full fibre connectivity is world-class and the experience is second-to-none. Working with Councils to give their social housing tenants the UK’s best Internet experience is a strategic priority for us – we are pioneering the shift to Gigabit Britain and the public sector has a huge role to play in making this happen as soon as possible. “
Cllr Shane Hebb, Portfolio Holder with responsibility for ICT, added: “We have publically stated that Thurrock Council needs to get ahead of the curve in a growing technological age. Whilst years ago, you had to put a suit on for a mortgage interview at the bank, now you can do much of it indoors in your front room. As the market has evolved, as must this council – we must continue to be a borough that works for everyone.
“More and more services that Thurrock offers has to become digital-first. Ultrafast Internet access is proven to improve social and economic welfare so we wanted to partner with a provider that would go way above the status quo and deliver a service that would make a real difference to the lives of our social housing tenants. Our ambition is to roll Hyperoptic’s gigabit connectivity out across the whole of our social housing estates in the future, and create a borough broadband offer which is available for everyone.”
