Ofcom: over half of UK homes now have access to fibre

A record 17 million UK homes, or 57% of the total, now have access to full-fibre broadband, with 4.6 million of those subscribing to a service, according to media and telecom regulator Ofcom’s latest Connected Nations report.

Source: Ofcom

The statistics represent an increase of 15 percentage points or 4.6 million premises compared to 2022.

Coverage in each of the four nations has also risen above the halfway point for the first time. Gigabit-capable broadband including HFC meanwhile covers 78% or 23.2 million premises across the UK.

In terms of FTTH, Northern Ireland leads the way, with over nine in 10 homes (91%) able to get full fibre.

Overall, 28% of homes and businesses that can access full-fibre have taken it up, with 4.6 million premises connected. Take-up in rural areas (where it is available) is nearly double that of urban homes, by 49% to 25%.

Take-up of superfast broadband from fixed lines is now at 75% of premises where it is available. Superfast coverage itself however remains constant at 97%. Superfast take-up as a proportion of all UK premises is now at 72%.

Ofcom also estimated that fixed-wireless access delivered via mobile networks is not available to 95% of UK premises, while FWA services via wireless ISPs are available to 7%. Ofcom estimated that around 42,000 UK customers are connected to the Starlink satellite service (up from 13,000 last year) – the majority in rural areas.

The number of homes unable to get speeds of 10Mbps has fallen to about 61,000, down from 80,000 last year.

5G mobile meanwhile continues to grow, with estimated coverage provided outside of UK premises by at least one operator of over 85%, up from 67% last year. 5G traffic has grown by around 140%, representing around 17% of total mobile traffic.

“The rapid rise in availability of full-fibre broadband is good news for people and businesses across the UK, with millions more able to benefit from fast, reliable and future-proof internet.

When the time comes to take out a new broadband contract, we encourage people to shop around and find out what options are available to make sure they are on the best package for their needs,”

said Lindsey Fussell, Ofcom’s network and communications group director.