Petroc Taylor
Research expert covering global developments in the use of data
Broadband in the UK - Statistics & Facts
Whether at home or in the office, millions of British internet users look to fixed broadband services for a fast, reliable connection. The United Kingdom’s fixed broadband sector is a cornerstone of the country’s 33 billion British pound telecommunications industry. Fixed communications as a whole generated 14 billion British pounds in 2023, with the average monthly household spend on fixed services clocking in at around 44 British pounds, ahead of mobile spending at around 40 British pounds. The expansion of fiber networks across the British Isles remains a core focus for operators, with subscribers looking for increased speed and reliability to make the most of emerging technologies.
Along with 5G mobile technology, fiber broadband is considered crucial for digital transformation in Britain. The UK government has therefore set an ambitious target of nationwide gigabit broadband access by the end of the decade.
Full fiber adoption surges ahead
Since 2018, FTTC (fiber-to-the-cabinet) connections have been the most common fixed broadband connection type in the UK. There were almost 14.5 million such connections in 2023, with ADSL connections, which deliver broadband via telephone lines, numbering just 2.3 million. While superior to ADSL, FTTC is not considered full fiber, as traditional copper wires are still used to deliver the connection from the street cabinet to the premises. FTTP (fiber-to-the premises) connections, which achieve lightning-fast speeds by using fiber cables for the entire length of the connection, numbered almost 5.7 million, up almost two million on the previous year.Average download speeds surpass 100 Mbit/s
The growing penetration of full fiber broadband helped spur a surge in UK download speeds in 2023, with the average fixed download speed reaching nearly 140 Mbit/s, up from just 102.7 Mbit/s in 2022. This has been met with increased data consumption, with well over 500 gigabytes used per connection in 2023, more than twice that of 2018. Despite this, many households remain without full fiber access. While FTTP coverage in Northern Ireland exceeded 94 percent as of January 2024, coverage in Scotland remained below 55 percent.BT remains the market leader
BT Group, formerly known as British Telecom, is the market leader in fixed telecoms, having operated as a monopoly prior to the liberalization of the British telecommunications industry in the 1980s. BT serviced one third of all fixed broadband connections in the UK in 2023, the largest share of any operator, contributing to the company’s 2.6 billion British pounds in consumer revenue in the third quarter of its 2024 financial year. BT also owns Openreach, a legally separate company which maintains the network infrastructure used by the majority of UK providers. Sky and Virgin Media are BT’s closest rivals, with market shares of 22 and 20 percent, respectively, as of 2023.Along with 5G mobile technology, fiber broadband is considered crucial for digital transformation in Britain. The UK government has therefore set an ambitious target of nationwide gigabit broadband access by the end of the decade.
