UK’s full-fibre broadband coverage rises to 8%

About 400,000 UK properties gained access to full-fibre broadband for the first time over the first four months of the year, according to Ofcom.

That gave access to a total of eight per cent of all premises, marking a one percentage point gain, the watchdog said.

The numbers highlight the amount of work that needs to be done if the Prime Minister’s goal of providing access “for all” by 2025 is to be achieved.

Ofcom noted that other technologies could also deliver Gigabit speeds.

The advantage of full fibre is that it has the potential to offer much faster speeds than other alternatives in the future.

Boris Johnson had previously said that Theresa May’s governments’ target of providing full-fibre to the whole country by 2033 was “laughably unambitious.”

The UK’s telecoms industry has previously said it could deliver full-fibre to everyone by 2025, but would require ministers to urgently address several issues, including a reform of property planning laws.

Ofcom noted that Virgin Media’s latest copper-based cable transmission technology and 5G wireless networks could “deliver services comparable with full fibre”.

“This could potentially provide people with a similar experience to the speeds currently being delivered by full fibre,” the report noted.