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The number of premises in the UK that are able to access gigabit-speed broadband connectivity continues to grow, with these capabilities now available to around one in seven homes and businesses.
This is according to new figures from Thinkbroadband, which revealed 14.55 per cent of premises are now able to access this technology, equating to around 4.4 million properties.
It noted the majority of locations use fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) services in order to access these speeds, with full fibre now available to 12.41 per cent of properties (3.76 million premises).
Most of the remaining homes and businesses are covered by Virgin Media's Gig1 service. This uses cable-based DOCSIS 3.1 technology, which the firm began rolling out in 2019, and provides speeds of up to 1,104Mbps.
Thinkbroadband's research also noted there are now 16 local authority areas where more than half of properties are now able to enjoy gigabit connectivity.
The most well-connected is Kingston upon Hull, where 98.69 per cent of properties have access to this technology. The city is unique in the UK as it is not covered by Openreach, and regional provider KCOM has invested some £85 million into bringing full fibre to around 200,000 premises in the area.
Elsewhere, Reading and Southampton were second and third in the table, mostly as a result of being among the first locations to go live with Virgin's Gig1 technology. They offer gigabit coverage of 89.96 per cent and 87.27 per cent respectively, with the majority of premises being connected by cable.
Meanwhile, Belfast was the city with the highest percentage of FTTP connections, at 70.19 per cent, with Milton Keynes (60.36 per cent), York (57.18 per cent) and Tameside (55.11 per cent) also having more than half of homes and businesses covered by this technology.
