Over half of premises in Britain passed by FTTP networks

Recent statistics show a single percentage point increase for UK fibre to the premises (FTTP) coverage from 51% to 52%, which has taken 32 days to achieve.

This rise is 11 days slower than the period that saw an increase from 50% to 51%. The cause of this lag has been attributed to the greater degree of overlap exiting between competing broadband networks. Current FTTP availability for UK businesses typically involves three to four different networks arriving in some areas, along with some single overlap. As a result, there is a current portion of 10.14% of UK premises that have access to at least two more FTTP networks.

Experts considering potential performance of broadband services in the future have examined activity over the last nine months. Regarding the rollout of full fibre, they suggest that UK users could see a much as 85% FTTP coverage by July 2025, providing that past build rates are sufficiently maintained. However, studies show that 85% Gigabit could potentially be reached even earlier, with a date of September 2024 earmarked.

While many businesses across the country are already enhancing their operations with rapid broadband services, some parts of the UK still have very poor access to FTTP. Among the local authorities still lacking are the Orkneys and Shetland, the Copeland District, Redcar and Cleveland, Gosport District, Argyll and Bute, Rossendale, and the Isles of Scilly. Notably, the Scilly Isles have experienced no improvement in availability since April this year.