The UK is closing in on its gigabit broadband rollout goal, with new figures from Ofcom showing that 84% of UK premises can now access gigabit-capable broadband, up from 82% in July 2024.
The regulator's Connected Nations Spring update suggests the country remains on course to hit the UK Government’s target of 85% coverage by the end of 2025.
According to the report, 27.2 million homes and businesses are now able to access broadband, delivering download speeds of one gigabit per second (Gbit/s) or more. That includes nine million UK homes, up from 25 million premises (83%) in July 2024.
Meanwhile, full-fibre coverage, considered essential for future digital infrastructure resilience, has reached 73% of UK premises, up from 67% a year ago.
The number of UK homes able to access full-fibre has increased by 1.8 million in just six months, reaching 22.5 million.
Adoption is rising too, with the number of active full-fibre connections now standing at 9 million, up by 1.5 million since July.
Progress has also been made in closing the digital divide. The number of UK premises without access to ‘decent’ broadband, defined as a minimum of 10 Mbit/s down and 1 Mbit/s up, has fallen to 48,000, down from 58,000 last year.
Ofcom estimates that around 41,000 of those premises are not yet in scope for any public-funded rollout over the next 12 months.
Publicly funded schemes are, however, expected to continue reducing that figure, particularly in hard-to-reach rural areas. For the first time, the update also includes take-up data for Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) services, reflecting their growing role in plugging last-mile connectivity gaps.
Despite national gains, the rollout remains uneven across the UK’s nations.
Ofcom’s data shows Northern Ireland leads with 95% gigabit coverage, while Wales still lags at 76%. Scotland, though improving, trails behind the UK average at 79%.
The government is, however, making strides to ensure those lagging get connected, as it kicked off the next phase of Project Gigabit at the start of the month, targeting Scotland.
The next phase will target some 65,000 rural properties in the Highlands, Aberdeenshire, Moray, Argyll and Bute, Angus and Perth and Kinross.
Ofcom’s report also revealed that mobile network coverage has remained steady, with 96% of the UK landmass predicted to have good outdoor 4G service from at least one mobile network operator.
5G coverage remains at 62% of the landmass, with operator-specific reach ranging between 62% and 85% outside UK premises.
While current mobile coverage models provide reliable high-level insights, Ofcom acknowledged that they fall short of reflecting real-world user experience, particularly in areas with low signal strength.
The regulator is planning an overhaul of its mobile web-checker tool, with improvements expected to roll out in the coming months.
