Published:
4 September 2024
This is our third forward-looking report about planned network deployments supporting very high speed broadband services in the United Kingdom, which, for all fixed networks we have examined, are now all based on full fibre technology.
Ofcom’s PND Report is prepared and published to supplement our infrastructure reports (known as our Connected Nations reports).
Key findings
- The total number of properties to have full fibre availability in 2027 could be as high as 29m (96% of all properties). If all network deployments are realised as planned, the number of properties covered by full fibre will increase from 18.7 million (as of January 2024) to around 29 million by May 2027. Gigabit-capable coverage could be in excess of 97% by 2027.
- Plans in 2024 for full fibre networks up to May 2026 are lower compared with plans to May 2026 made in 2023. Comparing the planned network deployments with those received last year, shows that providers have revised their future plans downwards (by around 3 percentage points across the UK). However, plans for which operators have higher confidence of achieving is slightly (+2pp) higher than last year.
- Networks are planned in all areas across the UK, although some regions can expect to see greater growth than others. For example, plans for full fibre networks up to 2026 in Scotland are broadly similar to those reported last year, whereas plans for deployments in Wales are 4 percentage points lower compared with 2023 plans. Variations in build plans for different local authorities are also observed, but, overall, we estimate 96% local authorities to see gigabit-capable coverage exceeding 60% of residential premises by 2027.
- Both rural and urban areas are being targeted by network operators. If all plans are realised as expected, coverage of gigabit-capable networks in urban areas could increase from 22m (85%) today to 25.6m (99%) in 2027 and from 2.1m (49%) to 3.8m (88%) in rural areas. Again, this picture varies across regions and local authorities.
- Almost all local authority areas in the UK have more than three network operators planning to deploy networks in the future; many regions having more than ten operators planning to build.
- Some of this build is complementary whereas others may result in direct competition at individual premises. We estimate that up to 81% of UK properties will be able to take gigabit-capable services from two or more providers by 2027.
- We also anticipate an expansion of Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) networks offering high speed broadband services (>100Mbit/s). Our data reports that, over the planned period, around 4,300 further FWA masts are being planned or upgraded across the UK, in addition to around 28,500 existing ones, that may be capable of offering high speed broadband. However, it is not straightforward to extrapolate from this information the number of premises that could receive these high-speed FWA broadband services.
