Connected Nations 2025: what it means for your broadband at home

Connected Nations is Ofcom's annual audit of UK fixed and mobile network coverage, published every November. It is compiled from data Ofcom collects directly from every licensed UK network operator and reconciled against the Royal Mail postcode file. The 2025 edition was published on 19 November 2025 and covers the UK as it stood on 31 July 2025.

As of July 2025, 78% of UK residential premises (23.7 million homes) can get full fibre, according to Ofcom's Connected Nations 2025 report. That's up from 69% a year earlier. The figure reaches 95% in Northern Ireland, 79% in England, 78% in Wales and 71% in Scotland.

Gigabit-capable broadband delivers download speeds of 1,000 Mbps (1 Gbps) or more. It includes both full-fibre (FTTP) connections and Virgin Media's DOCSIS 3.1 cable network. As of July 2025, 87% of UK homes can get gigabit-capable broadband.

Full fibre (also called fibre-to-the-premises or FTTP) runs a fibre-optic cable all the way to your front door, delivering the fastest and most reliable speeds available. Part-fibre (fibre-to-the-cabinet or FTTC) runs fibre only as far as a green street cabinet, then uses a copper phone line for the final stretch into your home, which caps real-world speeds at around 30 to 70 Mbps. Around 78% of UK homes can now get full fibre, but many are still connected via part-fibre because their provider hasn't moved them across yet [1].

The UK is now among Europe's leaders on full fibre. With 78% coverage as of July 2025, the UK sits ahead of Germany, France, Italy and Spain on full-fibre availability per capita, and close behind smaller early-mover countries like Spain's urban markets. The UK's pace of rollout has been remarkable: nine percentage points gained in a single year [1]. Gigabit-capable coverage (which includes Virgin Media's cable network) stands at 87%, putting the UK in the top tier of large European economies.

The top five local authorities for full fibre availability are Kingston upon Hull (99.8%), Antrim and Newtownabbey (97.8%), Southend-on-Sea (97.6%), Cannock Chase (96.8%) and Bracknell Forest (96.7%). The bottom five are Na h-Eileanan Siar (9.6%), Harlow (16.8%), Shetland Islands (17.7%), Argyll and Bute (21.8%) and Orkney Islands (25.4%) [2]. The gap is largely explained by geography, with remote islands and highlands at the bottom, and by historical exchange infrastructure at the top (Hull's KCOM network was an early fibre mover).

Around 14 million UK households have fibre available at their address but are still on older part-fibre or cable lines. Ofcom's pricing data shows ultrafast broadband bundles have fallen 8-9% in real terms over the past year, so most households who switch see their bills stay the same or drop while gaining two to five times the speed plus significantly better upload. The main reason most people haven't switched is they don't know fibre is now available on their street.

The fastest way is to enter your postcode into a coverage checker that pulls data from every UK network operator, not just one provider. Our broadband comparison tool checks Openreach, Virgin Media O2, CityFibre, Community Fibre, Hyperoptic, Gigaclear, Nexfibre and every other UK builder in one step. You'll see every full-fibre ISP available at your exact address, along with current prices and speeds.

Usually not. Most providers require you to request the upgrade, even when fibre has been built to your premises. Some ISPs now auto-migrate customers as part of the UK's copper switch-off programme (completing in 2027), but most do not, which is why Ofcom estimates around 14 million UK homes have fibre available but are still on legacy connections [1]. The simplest fix: run a postcode check and ask your provider (or a competitor) to quote you on their fibre package.

For most UK households, 100 to 200 Mbps is ample. A family of four streaming 4K video on three devices simultaneously, with someone gaming or video-calling, runs comfortably on 200 Mbps. Gigabit packages (1,000 Mbps+) make sense for larger households, heavy gamers, or anyone working with large files. Single-person households often run fine on 30 to 50 Mbps. Paying for gigabit when you'll never saturate 300 Mbps is one of the most common mistakes UK broadband customers make.

A social tariff is a discounted broadband package (typically £12.50 to £24 per month) offered to households on certain benefits, including Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, Jobseeker's Allowance and Income Support. Ofcom estimates eligible households save around £200 per year on average [5]. Most major UK broadband providers (BT, Sky, Virgin Media O2, Vodafone) now offer social tariffs, but only 8.6% of eligible households have signed up, because 70% of eligible households aren't aware social tariffs exist [5]. If you're on a qualifying benefit, ask your current provider about switching to their social tariff.

Around 255,000 UK homes still cannot get a fixed line delivering 10 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload. If you're one of them, 4G or 5G home broadband from Three, EE or Vodafone (starting around £21 a month) and Starlink satellite broadband (from £35 a month) are both credible alternatives available today. Starlink take-up in the UK has doubled in the past year.

In 2026, Starlink has become a credible broadband option for UK homes in areas where fibre isn't available. Its UK residential plans start at £35 a month for 100 Mbps speeds (Residential 100), £55 a month for 200 Mbps (Residential 200), and £75 a month for the top tier (Residential Max) [11]. Hardware costs £299 upfront, or £0 with a 12-month contract in selected areas. Real-world speeds in independent UK tests sit around 100 to 190 Mbps with latency between 25 and 50 milliseconds, comparable to fixed broadband for everyday use. Starlink makes most sense for rural homes that can't get fibre and where mobile broadband is weak; if you can get full fibre, it's almost always cheaper and faster to stay with a fixed line.

Yes. Project Gigabit, managed by Building Digital UK (BDUK) within the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, is a £5 billion programme subsidising gigabit rollout in rural and hard-to-reach areas. It targets 99% gigabit coverage by 2032.

The Connected Nations Spring 2026 Update is due in May 2026, covering the UK as of January 2026. The full Connected Nations 2026 annual report follows in November 2026 with July 2026 data.