The latest estimated Q3 2025 market statistics from telecoms analyst firm Point Topic have revealed that, for the first time, Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) based UK subscriber broadband ISP connections (11.56 million) have overtaken the previous generation of hybrid Fibre-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC/VDSL2) lines (10.6m).
In terms of the other broadband technologies. Some 5.1 million connections use Virgin Media’s cable / hybrid fibre coax (DOCSIS 3.1) network, which is followed by 1.43 million on pure copper line ADSL (ADSLMax, ADSL2+) technology and 406,000 on Fibre-to-the-Building (FTTB) – predominantly reflecting Hyperoptic’s base. After that, some 255k are connected via a G.fast cabinet (we think it may be even less) and 232k via satellite and fixed wireless networks.
Independent (or alternative network) providers continued to focus on subscriber take-up and saw 193k net additions in Q3 (up from 190k in the previous quarter), with a total consumer broadband FTTB/P subscriber base reaching 3.02 million (up 29% year-on-year). CityFibre alone accounted for 108k additions in Q3 (total base of 730,000), thanks in part to Sky Broadband joining their network.
By comparison, Openreach saw 551k full fibre net additions in Q3, which took their FTTP subscriber base – sold via hundreds of ISPs – to 7.65m (37.7% take-up). But as previously reported, they also lost 242k broadband lines (all technologies) in the quarter to rivals (up from 169k losses in Q2).
The report goes on to summarise a lot of the details we’ve covered before in prior news reports and results announcements, which makes it useful as a general overview of the market.
