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.