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New figures from Ofcom have revealed the number of properties in the UK able to access a full fibre broadband connection continues to grow, with around one in seven homes now benefiting from fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP).
The telecoms regulator's latest Summer Update to its annual Connected Nations report revealed 14 per cent of residential properties had full fibre connectivity as of May 2020, amounting to 4.2 million homes.
It noted this is a significant increase from the 3.5 million connected homes (12 per cent) in its last update in January. Ofcom stated this is as a result of the expansion of existing full fibre networks, as well as the inclusion of completely new fibre networks in its analysis.
The report also revealed the number of homes able to access ultrafast and superfast services - defined as download speeds of at least 300Mbps and 30Mbps respectively - has also continued to rise.
Availability of ultrafast broadband increased by just under 500,000 properties since the last update, with 16.6 million homes now covered by these networks. The increase is mainly the result of expansions of Virgin Media's fibre and cable deployments.
Meanwhile, a further 100,000 properties were added to the UK's superfast networks, taking the total number of homes covered to 26.6 million, or 95 per cent of properties.
Despite the progress, some areas continue to miss out. Ofcom note that around 590,000 homes are still not able to achieve fixed-line download speeds of at least 10Mbps, which is the minimum required for what the regulator considers to be 'decent broadband'.
On a regional basis, Northern Ireland remains far ahead of the UK as a whole when it comes to full-fibre deployment, with 49 per cent of homes having access to these services. This compares to 15 per cent for Wales and 13 per cent for England and Scotland.
However, Northern Ireland also had the higher proportion of properties unable to access decent broadband, at six per cent, compared with two per cent for the UK as a whole, suggesting there is still work to be done to close the digital divide.
