UK on Track to Reach 96% Fiber Coverage by 2027

WASHINGTON, March 24, 2025 – The United Kingdom is on course to reach 96% fiber broadband coverage within two years, according to the UK’s communications regulator, Ofcom.

The announcement came alongside Ofcom’s proposed regulatory framework for 2026 to 2031, the core mission of which was sustaining "competition and investment in high quality gigabit-capable networks.”

“The roll out of full fibre across the UK is a British infrastructure success story,” said Natalie Black, Ofcom’s Group Director for Networks and Communications, in a release. 

“Four years ago, less than a quarter of UK homes and offices had access, and it now stands at nearly seven in 10. But we do not take this momentum for granted and today, we are setting out how we can work with the sector to finish the job,” Black said.

The plan includes new rules to support rural buildout, prevent anti-competitive pricing by the UK’s largest fiber provider Openreach, and guide the industry through the transition from copper to fiber networks. Openreach is a subsidiary of BT Group (formerly British Telecommunications.) 

The plan builds on Ofcom’s 2021 rules, which helped drive full-fiber (or fiber-to-the-premises) availability from just 24% of UK premises to nearly 70% in under four years. Meanwhile, 83% of premises now have access to gigabit-capable speeds over all technologies, including Virgin Media’s cable network.

“As a result,” Ofcom said, “the UK has seen one of the fastest rates of roll out of full-fiber broadband in Europe, with industry investment ranging between £3bn [$3.87 billion] and £6bn [$7.74 billion] each year.

A key focus remains on preventing anti-competitive behavior by Openreach, BT Group’s infrastructure arm. Ofcom has reaffirmed that Openreach holds significant market power (SMP) in several wholesale broadband markets, justifying continued regulatory oversight. 

Openreach’s fiber network currently passes around 13.5 million premises — about 50% of the UK — and it plans to reach 25 million by the end of 2026. Through its legacy copper and hybrid lines, Openreach still serves over 90% of UK premises.

To ensure competitors can grow, Openreach will remain obligated to provide fair access to its ducts and poles under the Physical Infrastructure Access rules, and must not engage in discriminatory pricing. 

The new framework includes tailored rules for different geographic markets. In the most competitive areas (Area 2, now covering 90% of the country), Openreach will continue to face pricing constraints on entry-level products, while enjoying flexibility on faster tiers. 

In rural and remote areas (Area 3), where competition was considered unlikely, Ofcom will maintain tighter controls, support public subsidies, and lean on dark fiber access to promote service options for ISPs.

Ofcom also updated its rules so that internet providers can lease faster basic broadband, up to 80 Megabits per second (Mbps), at the same regulated price they used to pay for 40 Mbps, in response to how much more speed households now use.

While the UK nears universal fiber coverage, the United States is trailing closely behind. As of early 2025 fiber passed 56.5% of U.S. households, following record deployment in 2024, according to the Fiber Broadband Association. 

FBA projected that between 2025 and 2029, the U.S. could see more than a 50% increase in homes passed and over a 100% increase in fiber route miles to support them.