The new Ubuntu fonts were actually supposed to be available for public beta on August 8th. However, WebUpd8 reports that it is already available to users who are part of the ~kubuntu-users team in Launchpad – and anyone can join this team. You do not have to be a Kubuntu user to join it. So, this means that the fonts are available to practically everyone who does not mind going through the few extra steps required to get it.

This is the email to the kubuntu-users mailing list announcing it:

Members of the ~kubuntu-users team on launchpad can now test out the Ubuntu Font which is currently in beta testing. Anyone can join this team.

We are considering setting this as the default screen font in 10.10, opinions welcome but please include a rationale with your opinion, artwork is very easy to criticize but is hard to criticize well.

So, here is what you need to do:

Join the kubuntu-users team in Launchpad https://launchpad.net/~kubuntu-users

Go to https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-font-beta-testing and follow the instructions given there on how to set up a private PPA very carefully.

Go to https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-font-beta-testing/+archive/ppa and add the PPA manually by editing sources.list. add-apt-repository will not work here.

Note: You need to have a Launchpad account to do this.

Or, if you would rather not go through all these, wait for a few days. The fonts will be available for public beta on August 8th, and you can add the PPA through the normal way, without going through all these private PPA stuff.