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The UK has seen rapid progress in the reach of its full fibre networks, since it first passed 1% in Q4 2018
UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has confirmed that fibre to the home (FTTH) services are now available to 7 per cent of properties across the country.
Ofcom released its Connected Nation report, which gives a detailed analysis of the UK’s conectivity by region.
The increase in the availability of FTTH services has coincided with Openreach’s Fibre First rollout, Virgin Media’s Project Lighting and CityFibre’s ongoing partnership with Vodafone, as the UK’s network operators make a concerted effort to increase the reach of their fibre networks.
“This is great news for the UK and we’re proud to be leading the build of faster, more reliable and future-proof broadband networks across the country," said Kim Mears, MD strategic infrastructure development at Openreach.
“We want to be the national full fibre provider and we’re convinced our technology can be a huge catalyst for productivity and prosperity post-Brexit.
“We’re investing heavily in our network and people; in communities all over the UK, and we’re on track to hit our target of reaching three million premises by the end of 2020. But we want to go much further, and we will do if the conditions are right to invest.”
Ofcom also confirmed that 95 per cent of the UK population is now able to access superfast services of 30Mbps or more.
“For the first time, a majority of homes and offices can now get ultrafast broadband – which allows people to work, stream and shop online at the same time," said Ofcom’s chief executive, Sharon White.
“We’ve also seen the number of homes that can’t get decent broadband fall by a third in the last year. I think that progress is really encouraging, but it’s vital we keep it going. So, we’re working with the Government to bring in the new universal broadband service, which will give everyone the right to request a decent connection. We’ll announce who’ll deliver the scheme in the summer.”
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UK FTTH footprint passes 2 million premises
