BT Group PLC and other broadband networks made a big leap in rolling out high speed fibre access to households over the past year, according to the telecoms regulator, though the 5G mobile roll-out has plateaued.
The latest research by Ofcom revealed the roll-out reached 11mln UK households or 37% of the total, compared to just under 7mln or 24% a year ago.
Put another way, it means 63% of premises still cannot get full-fibre internet.
The increase was driven by deployments by the larger fibre infrastructure operators such as BT’s Openreach and Virgin Media O2, also supported by a number of smaller providers.
The number of properties unable to get a ‘decent’ broadband speed of at least 10 megabits per second (Mbit/s) for downloads and 1Mbit/s upload has fallen by 38% since last year to 83,000.
Expansion of the fastest broadband, capable of delivering 2 gigabit speeds, for consumers slowed at Virgin Media O2’s upgrade programme concluded, with the UK total having reached around 20.2mln UK homes, up from 19.3mln homes in the spring, which Ofcom said was driven well established and new market entrants.
However, Virgin Media O2 has announced further plans to continue to expand the geographical scope of its infrastructure.
The UK government’s £5bn Project Gigabit programme aims to improve gigabit connectivity by using state aid to target the hardest to reach premises, with the target of extending gigabit coverage to at least 85% of UK premises by the end of 2025 and then 'nationwide' by 2030.
5G mobile coverage from at least one operator has only risen to 48%-64% of premises from 47%- 62% in the spring update.
Ofcom also published research on how small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are using communications services, saying the pandemic has accelerated a shift towards hybrid working for businesses with between 10 and 250 employees, making home broadband more of a priority.
Around a third of SMEs (31%) with a broadband connection think it has become even more important since the start of the pandemic.
A quarter of SMEs have switched a communications service in the last two years, with a cheaper deal being the main reason for doing so, while those that don’t switch cite high satisfaction with their current provider as a reason for staying put.