Our 2025 report on planned deployments of very high-capacity networks examines the increase in full-fibre and gigabit-capable network coverage anticipated by the end of 2027. It also considers the plans of operators of fixed wireless access (FWA) networks to extend or upgrade their networks so as to support very high-speed broadband services.
The report is based on the stated deployment plans of communications providers (CPs) as of January 2025 up to three years in advance. Last year we reported on anticipated coverage by May 2027, based on plans as of April 2024.
The plans include those that are privately funded as well as any plans that are supported through public funds or intervention. However, the report only focuses on network operators’ planned deployments and does not take account of any aspirations or plans by public authorities, whether national or local, to roll out networks in their geographical areas.
This forward-looking report supplements our Connected Nations Spring 2025 update, which is a statement of existing network coverage as of January 2025.
Key findings
- The number of homes with full-fibre availability by the end of 2027 could be close to 29 million (95% of all residential properties) [1]. If all planned deployments are realised, the number of properties with access to full fibre will increase from 22.5 million as of January 2025 to 28.8 million by January 2028. Gigabit-capable coverage could be 97% by the end of 2027.
- Operators have revised their build plans downwards from last year, both in scope and confidence of achieving. Compared to the coverage anticipated by May 2027 in our 2024 report, the full-fibre coverage by January 2028 is around one percentage point lower across the UK if all plans are realised. However, when only High Confidence plans are taken into account [2], full-fibre coverage could be down by nine percentage points (86% by January 2028 versus 95% by May 2027 based on last year’s deployment plans).
- All areas across the UK are expected to see an increase in full-fibre availability, although some regions are more affected by the revised build plans than others. If all plans are realised, Northern Ireland and Wales could still see the same full-fibre coverage by the end of 2027 as reported last year for May 2027. However, the projected coverage for England and Scotland is slightly lower, by around one percentage point for Scotland and two percentage points for England.
- Both rural and urban areas are being targeted by network operators. If all plans are realised, coverage of gigabit-capable networks in urban areas could increase from 23.4 million (90%) as of January 2025 to 25.5 million (98%) by January 2028, and from 2.5 million (58%) to 3.8 million (89%) in rural areas. Again, this picture varies across regions and local authorities.
- Variations in build plans for different local authorities are also observed, but, overall, we estimate at least 96% of local authorities to see gigabit-capable coverage of residential premises exceeding 85% by January 2028. Almost all local authority areas in the UK have more than three network operators planning to deploy networks in the future and many regions have more than ten operators planning to build. Some of these builds are complementary whereas others may result in direct competition at individual properties. We estimate that up to 8 out of 10 UK homes (79%) will have access to two or more gigabit-capable networks by the end of 2027.
- We also anticipate an expansion of FWA networks offering high-speed broadband services (at least 100 Mbit/s download speeds). Our data reports that, over the planned period, around 1,100 further FWA masts are being planned or upgraded across the UK [3].
Footnotes
- To remain consistent with the main Connected Nations reports, all results refer to residential properties only. Results for all premises, i.e. residential and business, are provided in one of the files with planned network deployments for local authorities.
- We asked CPs to confirm both the financial and planning status of their planned network deployments. Specifically, we asked whether the plans had reached a design stage of ‘Low Level Design complete’ and whether funding had been committed for the plans. These criteria were chosen to align with the classifications and criteria set out in the BDUK’s National Rolling Open Market Review (National Rolling Open Market Review January 2025 Request For Information - GOV.UK). In this report, we consider plans to be of ‘High Confidence’, if they have reached both the low-level design stage and for which funding has been committed.
- We have changed the way that we count mast sites to better identify site sharing. As a result, the current number of masts this year will not be consistent with previous years, so we report only on the future growth figures here.