The promise of 1Gpbs fibre-to-the-premises broadband comes tantalisingly closer.
Hyperoptic is continuing its UK rollout of ultrafast 1Gbps fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) broadband with £21 million in funding from the European Investment Bank.

Hyperoptic currently provides the UK's fastest residential broadband to small regions of 13 cities, and has already said that number will grow to 20, with further expansion on the cards down the line.

Ars was very impressed with the sheer speed Hyperoptic can provide when we examined their service last year, but were disappointed that the cost of the infrastructure limited access to new builds, and buildings with 50 or more dwellings. This new investment—the largest ever made by the EIB into an Internet network—will hopefully go a long way to expanding access. Hyperoptic says it hopes the cash injection will allow it to reach half a million more homes in major British conurbations, with 300,000 of those being connected in the next three years.

The eight-year loan is designed to help "urban areas that only have slow access at present," and joins additional infrastructure funding from private investment firm Soros Fund Management for a total of more than £75 million.
"This exciting new initiative will transform economic activity, healthcare, education, and access to key services, and represents the EIB’s first targeted support to address slow urban communications in the UK,” said Jonathan Taylor, the bank's vice-president.

Despite being the largest dedicated FTTP provider in Britain, and while the size of its network has more than doubled every year for the last few years, Hyperoptic remains something of a boutique concern. Virgin Media announced its own foray into the FTTP market in April, as part of its "Project Lightning" expansion, which will reach one million homes and businesses in the next few years—kicking off something of a fibre broadband arms race (not before time).

The EIB provides long-term lending for European Union member states, who own it in trust, to contribute towards EU policy goals. The UK currently holds a 16 percent share in it, but with Brexit on the horizon, loans of this kind could well dry up. A spokesperson for Hyperoptic confirmed to Ars, however, that the EU referendum result "will have no bearing on the loan."

Hyperoptic recently won the ISPA award for the best superfast broadband for the fourth year running, and it currently services homes and businesses in parts of Greater London, Cardiff, Bristol, Brighton, Reading, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield, Birmingham, Glasgow, Newcastle, and Nottingham. Its seven-city expansion includes Portsmouth, Watford, Leicester, Southampton, Slough, Edinburgh, and Woking. The networks are already live in all seven, and according to the spokesperson, "installations are being prioritised via customer demand and registered interest."