Ofcom’s Connected Nations Report – Summer 2020
Ofcom has published its interim report which states that full fibre broadband is now available to over 4.2 million UK homes (14%), an increase of 670,000 (2%) since January. This is a result of increased rollout from the expansion of existing broadband networks as well as companies building entirely new fibre networks.
The UK Government recently announced that almost 500,000 premises across the UK have been connected to gigabit-capable broadband since summer 2018 as a result of a £1 billion government funding commitment that runs until the end of 2021, with a further £5 billion earmarked for the hardest-to-reach areas. Government has also launched a new taskforce – GigaTAG – to encourage further take-up of gigabit broadband services.
Other key findings from the report include:
- Ultrafast broadband is now available to 57% of UK properties.
- Superfast broadband is available to 95% of UK properties.
- 98% of UK properties can access ‘decent’ broadband from a fixed line.
- Mobile coverage remains stable with two thirds of the UK landmass having good 4G coverage from all four operators, includes 97% of the premises in the UK. Coverage is expected to increase as mobile operators continue to extend their networks through the Shared Rural Network.
- The growing availability of Fixed Wireless Access will further reduce the number of premises unable to get a decent broadband connection. This will be covered in more detail in Ofcom’s Connected Nations December report.
