Take-up of Full Fibre Slowed This Spring

Brits’ adoption of full-fibre broadband products flattened this spring, despite the gigabit-capable connections being more available than ever.

Market researchers Point Topic report that the growth of the full-fibre (FTTP) customer base slowed to 14.8% in the second quarter of the year. 

That’s significantly slower than the 37.2% growth posted in the first three months of the year and the 28.6% growth registered in the last quarter of 2020, both of which placed the UK at the top of the league table for full-fibre signups. In the spring, India claimed the title.

We don’t have a firm explanation for why signups slowed between April and June, but perhaps the UK’s emergence from lockdowns removed some of the motivations for subscribing to an ultrafast broadband package, such as seamless Zoom sessions, home working and schooling, and Netflix and gaming marathons. Brits mad for evenings in pub gardens and socially-distanced reunions with friends may have cared a little less about their home broadband this spring. We’ll see if that trend continues when figures for the summer are released.

Currently, around 27% of UK premises have access to full-fibre connections, currently being built at pace by Openreach (BT), KCOM, Virgin Media, and a mob of alternative networks, including Hyperoptic, Giganet, and CityFibre.

Researchers Thinkbroadband recently forecast that the country will reach 50% full-fibre coverage between May and December 2025, with 99.9% coverage achieved between October 2030 and July 2032.

The government is aiming to achieve 85% gigabit coverage by 2025. But in a watering down of Boris Johnson’s initial promise, they’re counting technologies other than full fibre, such as Virgin Media’s cable network, capable of gigabit speeds downstream, and fixed wireless networks for rural areas.

Nationwide full-fibre coverage could boost the UK's economic productivity by up to £59 billion by 2025 and bring one million back into the workforce, according to an analysis from the Centre for Economics and Business Research.

Lauren Smith

Lauren Smith has worked as a journalist and copywriter for most of the last decade, covering technology, energy, and consumer rights, in the US and UK.

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