Nearly 83% of premises in the United Kingdom are covered by fibre to the premises. Gigabit network coverage, including cable, is nearly 90%. Coverage is one thing, but being connected is another.

The numbers come from the latest research from PointTopic, which tracks the metrics as part of its mapping of broadband in the United Kingdom.

There are over 28 million premises in the United Kingdom covered by fibre to the premises availability. That is 82.9% of the total, compared to 80.5% at the end of 2025. That includes OpenReach, Virgin Media 02, KCOM, and alternative network providers.

So-called overbuilding has increased, where premises have access to more than one fibre provider. 13.4 million premises have access to two or more fibre networks, which is 39.5%. 7.3% have access to three or more.

Availability is uneven. In the Shetland Islands only a fifth of premises are passed by a fibre connection, which is perhaps understandable. Less excusable is that in the City of London, known as the Square Mile, that is the financial heart of the capital, fibre passes less than 40% of premises.

Openreach, the incumbent wholesale provider, added 1.3 million premises that could access fibre in the first quarter of 2026, compared to 1.1 million in the previous quarter. It is on track to reach its target of 25 million premises by the end of 2026.

Belfast in Northern Ireland is the top local authority by percentage of premises passed by Openreach fibre, at 96%. Wirral has the highest percentage in England, with 95%, while Flintshire in Wales has 93%.

Among alternative network providers, or altnets, CityFibre has 4.2 million premises ready for service with fibre. Netomnia, Nexfibre, and Community Fibre had the next largest footprints, with 3 million, 2.4 million, and 1.4 million premises respectively.

If the deal between Netomnia and Nexfibre goes ahead, currently under review by the Competition and Markets Authority, Nexfibre will more than double its footprint. That could reach 8 million premises by the end of 2027. Combined with the Virgin Media network, that could reach 20 million premises and create a serious challenger to Openreach.

The combination of Nexfibre, a joint venture between Liberty Global, Telefónica, and InfaVia, with Substantial Group, comprising Netomnia,YouFibre, and Brsk, could be assessed in terms of the national market. Or it could be considered at local levels, where in some cases Virgin Media and Netomnia are already in direct competition.

The assessment may not only determine the outcome and timetable for that proposed transaction, but also provide a precedent for how future consolidation of alternative network providers may be considered.

These numbers all relate to homes passed. Availability is one thing. Taking up a fibre connection is another.

There are still over 11 million premises in the country that are only covered by legacy networks, like ADSL or fibre to the cabinet. Openreach still covers over a million homes by ADSL, and over 9 million by fibre to the cabinet. Together that makes up over 30% of total premises.

www.point-topic.com

A collaboration between Ocean Blue Software and the Service List Registry will bring together client software and platform infrastructure to support the international deployment of the DVB-I service discovery standard at scale. OBS has developed a high-performance DVB-I client that can be compiled directly into the firmware of television and video devices and displays. Connected to the SLR Unified Service Platform, it offers an end-to-end solution for service discovery.

Founded in 2005 and based in Bristol, with an international team of expert engineers, Ocean Blue Software develops smart television software used by device manufacturers and platform operators to accelerate product development, together with validation services that ensure compatibility with industry standards.

OBS has developed a high-performance DVB-I Client for integration in smart televisions and operator platforms. The same software also supports its online DVB-I Inspector, an analysis, validation, and continuous monitoring tool that ensures service information used by devices conforms to industry specifications.

SLR provides a structured, standards-based directory of television and video services, enabling devices and applications to discover and access services across multiple sources, countries, regions, and delivery networks.

The SLR Unified Service Platform implements DVB-I, an open standard that specifies how services can be described and discovered. It enables interoperability across broadcast and broadband environments while enabling innovation in user experience.

Connecting with the SLR platform, the OBS software solution supports reliable service discovery for television operating systems, simplifies integration and deployment, and ensures interoperability across the DVB-I value chain, from media providers to devices and displays. Together they advance the international deployment of the DVB-I service discovery specification at scale through a robust and reliable ecosystem based on open standards.

“Ocean Blue Software has a long track record of delivering smart television software for manufacturers and operators worldwide. We have now developed an efficient DVB-I Client for integration into their products,” said Paul Martin, CEO of Ocean Blue Software. “Working closely with SLR, we can connect these devices with service discovery, so that DVB-I can be deployed effectively across them in multiple markets.”

The initial focus will be on aligning OBS client software with the SLR platform, supporting consistent service discovery for television manufacturers and operating system providers worldwide that are planning to incorporate DVB-I in their next-generation products.

oceanbluesoftware.co.uk
slrdb.org

Television operating systems in Europe are fragmented across a number of brands. V, formerly known as VIDAA, the smart television operating system developed by Hisense, is forecast to overtake LG webOS in 2026. Chinese brands are taking share from Korean companies, much as they stole the lead from Japanese brands.

Research company Omdia says the rapid growth of V has been driven by the strong momentum of Hisense and its expanding footprint across Europe. It has significantly increased its market share in recent years, supported by competitive pricing, broader distribution, and high-profile global marketing campaigns.

Shipment of televisions powered by V are closing the gap with webOS from LG, with shipments expected to surpass it in 2026.

The dominant platform is Android, driven by another Chinese company, TCL and localised brands. Android has just over a 30% share of the market by annual shipments.

Android overtook Tizen from Samsung, which now accounts for less than a quarter of shipments in Europe, followed by LG webOS at about a fifth.

V is expected to rank third in 2026. The rise of V shows that Chinese manufacturers are gaining ground on their Korean counterparts in both shipments and platform influence.

“Samsung and LG have built large installed bases over the past decade, reaching tens of millions of households,” said David Tett, principal analyst at Omdia. “However, Chinese vendors are rapidly expanding their installed base, driven by strong shipment growth across Europe.”

Titan OS, a European smart television operating system developed by a company of that name based in Barcelona, is used to power some televisions from brands including Philips and JVC. It now has about 5% of shipments in Europe, putting it ahead of FireTV, TiVo OS, and Roku.

That only goes to demonstrate howe fragmented the television operating system is in Europe, and how much there is to play for.

omdia.tech.informa.com