UK fibre rollout nears 80% as overbuild rises and competition shifts

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The UK’s roll‑out of full‑fibre broadband continued to gather pace in the first half of 2025, with independent research showing the share of premises passed by fibre‑to‑the‑premises (FTTP) networks closing in on four‑fifths of homes and businesses. Industry data from a Q2 update shows overall FTTP coverage at around 77.8% of UK premises – just over 26 million premises – and an annual expansion running in the mid‑teens percentage range.

The industry update records FTTP passing approaching 80% during Q2 2025 and annual growth of about 15.3%, while the regulator’s Connected Nations report for spring 2025 put full‑fibre availability at 74% of homes as of January 2025 and gigabit‑capable coverage at about 86%.
Openreach remained the single biggest driver of nationwide roll‑out in the quarter, adding roughly 980,000 full‑fibre premises and taking its FTTP footprint to about 18.7 million premises – equivalent to around 55.6% of the UK. At the same time Openreach’s legacy copper and hybrid networks continued to shrink: the number of premises served only by ADSL, FTTC or G.fast fell markedly during the quarter. Nationwide, non‑fibre networks now cover significantly fewer premises than FTTP networks, reflecting the transition from copper to fibre.

Overbuild continues to be a growing issue, with some 10.9 million premises that can now choose between two or more FTTP providers and about 1.75 million premises have access to three or more fibre networks.

Regional and local patterns of deployment remain highly uneven. Openreach continues to post its strongest coverage outside London and the Southeast, with Belfast reported as the leading local authority for Openreach FTTP availability at about 96% of premises passed. In Q2, Barnet and Barnsley added the largest numbers of FTTP premises, while some more rural local authorities recorded very large percentage increases from smaller bases – examples include the Shetland Islands and West Dunbartonshire. Those disparities underline the continuing policy and commercial challenge of ensuring equitable access across dense urban, suburban, and remote rural communities.

For more in-depth insight into the future of UK fibre and the evolution of the altnet model, make sure you attend Connected Britain in London on 24-25 September 2025. Get your tickets at www.totaltele.com/connectedbritain

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Author: Ernestro Casas -

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