Ofcom: UK full fibre coverage hits 24 per cent

According to the latest Ofcom report on the UK’s broadband and mobile coverage, 24 per cent of UK homes (close to seven million) have access to a full-fibre broadband connection. The figure, taken from May 2021, is up from 21 per cent in January of this year.

The Summer 2021 report, which utilises coverage and service information from mobile operators and UK fixed line ISPs, also found that 40 per cent of homes (around 11.6 million) can now access a gigabit-capable connection - up from 37 per cent in the last report.

The regulator revealed that 62 per cent of UK premises can now access an ultrafast speed of 300 Mbps+, compared to 61 per cent in January, while superfast coverage (30 Mbps+) remained at 96 per cent.

The figure for access to a “decent” connection of 10 Mbps+ also remained steady at 98 per cent, as it has for the previous two reports. However, the report also highlighted that there are still around 134,000 premises in the UK which do not have access to a satisfactory broadband connection of at least 10 Mbps.

Of 2,500 homes surveyed by Ofcom, 85 per cent had taken up a superfast connection, up from 75 per cent in November 2019, with the rise likely attributable to widespread home working and education during the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Ofcom, this means that more than two million households have upgraded to a superfast connection. The regulator also said that its report showed that the UK’s median broadband speed had increased 20 per cent from 42.1 Mbps in November 2019 to 50.4 Mbps.

Ofcom Group Director Strategy and Research Yih-Choung Teh said: “Over two million households have upgraded their internet package since the pandemic began, and broadband firms are rushing to meet the UK’s need for speed. With full-fibre networks being built at a record rate, the UK’s networks are being made fit for the future. But our figures show work is still needed to get decent broadband to remote parts of the UK.”