Every number on this site, sourced, dated, signed.

Network reach measurement

The headline numbers shown on the home page and on /advertise (network impressions, network clicks and the BroadbandSwitch.uk site spotlight) are compiled monthly from primary platform reports. We do not extrapolate. Where two platforms overlap, we deduplicate by domain. Where a platform cannot be reconciled with confidence, we exclude it rather than estimate.

Headline figures and their sources

• 12,000,000+ verified network impressions / yr — rolling 12 months to 24 May 2026. Compiled from Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools, Meta Ad Manager, YouTube Studio and Ahrefs Site Explorer across the 19 commercial sites. The full granular breakdown by domain and platform is available in data/network-reach-2025-05-24_2026-05-24.json.
• 730,000+ network clicks / yr (rolling average of 2,000+ per day, rising fast) — compiled from Google Analytics 4 (primary), Meta Ad Manager, Bing Webmaster Tools, YouTube Studio and partner platforms across the 19 commercial sites. GA4 captures direct, branded, organic, referral and paid traffic in a single measurement layer, which is why the GA4-led click total is materially higher than the GSC + Bing organic subset (15,199 clicks) that you will see in the granular research file. Both numbers are correct: they measure different things and we publish both.
• BroadbandSwitch.uk: 3,000+ unique visitors / day — rolling 30-day average from Google Analytics 4 on broadbandswitch.uk, as of the most recent monthly refresh. "Unique visitors" means distinct users in GA4 over a 24-hour window, deduplicated by the GA4 user identifier. The site's Ahrefs Domain Rating (DR 74) is the network high and the Ahrefs-published authority indicator for the domain.
• 20 live UK sites in the network — the 19 commercial broadband and tool sites plus ParentalControl.uk (live May 2026, no commercial inventory). The ParentalControl.uk site is reported separately as it scales and is not currently included in the network impressions or click totals above.

Refresh cadence

Network reach figures are refreshed monthly. The data file timestamp records the snapshot date. Where a platform has revised historical numbers between snapshots, we adopt the revised number and note the change in the file metadata. We do not back-fill estimates for periods where a platform was not yet wired into our measurement stack.

Why two click figures coexist

You will see two click numbers in our published material. The smaller one (15,199 organic + 125,845 paid & social = 141,044 total for the 12 months to 24 May 2026) is the strict verified subset compiled from GSC, Bing Webmaster, Meta Ad Manager and YouTube Studio alone, and lives in the granular research file for journalists and analysts who want a single-source audit trail. The larger headline figure (730,000+ per year, averaging 2,000+ per day) is the GA4-led all-channel measurement that includes direct, referral and branded traffic and that we believe more honestly reflects audience scale for advertisers evaluating tenancy. We surface the GA4-led figure on commercial pages because it is the number an advertiser cares about; we publish the verified-search-and-paid subset on /research so it can be independently rebuilt from named platforms.

Datasets in scope

1. UK AltNet Tracker: 30 UK alternative network operators.
2. UK ISP Commission Database: 20 UK ISPs.
3. UK Broadband Market Pulse: UK headline market plus regional snapshot.
4. UK Telco Domain Authority Index: SSS Group network plus reference UK telco web domains.

City pages (/broadband-in/) use the same methodology where they cite coverage and average price.

Primary sources

• Operator-published trading updates and press releases.
• INCA (Independent Networks Cooperative Association) member directory.
• Ofcom Connected Nations annual UK fixed and mobile connectivity report.
• Project Gigabit and BDUK programme publications.
• Companies House filings (for funding rounds, ownership).
• Ahrefs Site Explorer (for Domain Rating and backlink data).
• SearchSwitchSave.com and BroadbandSwitch.uk listing data (for average advertised price and speed).
• Public investor disclosures from named UK altnet backers.

Definitions

• Premises passed: number of UK premises (residential plus commercial) where the operator's physical infrastructure can technically reach with reasonable engineering.
• Premises ready for service (RFS): subset of premises passed where service can be ordered and installed without further build work.
• Customers: paying retail subscribers at the most recent operator-published trading update.
• Take-up rate: customers divided by premises ready for service, expressed as a percentage.
• INCA membership: operator listed in INCA member directory at the time of compilation.
• Domain Rating (DR): Ahrefs metric on 0 to 100 scale, sampled on the last working day of each quarter.

Treatment of confidential and unverified data

Where an operator has not published a confident number for a given metric, we mark the cell "data pending" rather than estimating. Where a published number has a range, we use the conservative end of the range. Where a published number is materially out of date, we flag the publication date alongside the number. We do not invent figures.

Update cadence

• Research-index quarterly refresh. The four research-index pages are reviewed at the end of every UK calendar quarter (March, June, September, December).
• Domain Authority Index monthly DR refresh. Ahrefs DR is captured on the last working day of each month via the public Ahrefs Website Authority Checker.
• Operator profile pages. Refreshed within thirty calendar days of a material corporate event (funding round, M&A close, brand change, administration, leadership change).
• Network reach figures. Refreshed monthly from Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools, Meta Ad Manager, YouTube Studio and Ahrefs Site Explorer.

Independence and conflicts of interest

FBRE.uk does not accept payment for inclusion in, or for placement within, any of its research indices. Operator pages and research tables are editorially independent. We may earn commercial commission from affiliate clicks on our consumer comparison surfaces; this commercial relationship does not influence inclusion or ranking in research indices.

We are not an Ofcom-accredited price comparison service. The list of accredited services is maintained at ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/saving-money/price-comparison. We follow the same audit principles (accessibility, accuracy, transparency, comprehensiveness, currency) on a voluntary, self-assessed basis.

The SearchSwitchSave Group is a privately-held UK business with commercial relationships across UK telco that include affiliate programmes (Awin), tenancy placement, software builds and research collaborations. Where an operator is also a tenancy advertiser on the FBRE network, the relationship is disclosed in the profile. We do not edit independent rankings to favour advertisers.

Corrections

If you believe a published number is wrong, please email hello@searchswitchsave.com with subject "Research correction" and include the source you are relying on. We respond to verified correction requests within one business day.

Citation guidance

All four datasets are free to cite for journalism, academic work, policy submissions, operator marketing and consumer media. Example citation for the UK AltNet Tracker:

SearchSwitchSave Group. (2026). UK AltNet Tracker 2026. FBRE.uk Research. Data current to 24 May 2026. https://fbre.uk/research/uk-altnet-tracker

Use the same pattern for the other datasets: name the dataset, link to its FBRE.uk page, and note the refresh date shown at the top of that page. Add the date you retrieved the data if you publish later. All source references are listed in our master bibliography, formatted to APA 7th edition.

No prior permission required. No embargo applies to published datasets. For embargoed advance access to a new dataset or material refresh, contact the founder.

Licence

Free to cite with attribution. Not licensed for resale or for inclusion in commercial paid-access products without prior written agreement. Contact us for commercial licensing.