SOUTHAMPTON’S first hyperspeed broadband customers have been connected.

Toob, the company behind the £50million bid to make the city the best-connected in the UK, has been testing out its full-fibre technology with the first wave of local users.

The early customers have been enjoying download and upload speeds of 900Mbps, which the company says is transforming the way they use the internet.

Toob chief executive Nick Parbutt said: “I am delighted to launch our hyperspeed broadband in Southampton

“Our first customers have told us how much of a positive impact fast, reliable broadband has had.

“Whether our customers are streaming movies, shopping, studying, working or gaming or all of these at the same time, our hyperspeed broadband has the speed and reliability to deliver it all without slowing or interruption.”

One early user, a graphic designer who needs to upload data as well as streaming and gaming, told the company that “everything just works better”.

Toob, headquartered in Portsmouth, intends to connect 100,000 properties over the next two years, with the aim of connecting more than a million properties in the south.

The service is currently available in a few apartment blocks to the south of Southampton city centre, with more connections available in the next few weeks.

Wherever possible toob says it will use the existing BT Openreach cable ducts for the optic cables. However, it says that some roads will have to be dug up for new cables to be laid.

Network construction has also begun in the Bevois area, with the whole city due to be connected by the end of 2021.

Southampton’s rollout is backed by Amber Infrastructure with £75million from its National Digital Infrastructure Fund.

The network promises to be 16 times faster than the average UK speed on download and 125 times faster on upload.

Downloading a TV series of 9.5GB, which would usually take 20 minutes, will take 1.5 minutes, the company says. Uploading 1GB of data, which would usually take 18 minutes, should take less than 10 seconds.

The 900 Mbps service costs £25 per month for 18 months and £29 per month afterwards. Details are at toob.co.uk