Research dataset · Updated 24 May 2026
UK Broadband Market Pulse 2026
Quarterly snapshot of the UK consumer broadband market. Switch volumes, average price, average advertised speed, FTTP coverage and altnet penetration by region.
UK headline
+ regional
CC-BY-4.0
Updated quarterly
May 2026
Last refresh
UK headline market
| UK total fixed broadband connections | Approximately 28 million UK residential connections (Ofcom Connected Nations 2025, July 2025 data). |
|---|---|
| FTTP coverage (UK) | 23.7 million residential premises (78 percent) at July 2025, rising to 24.9 million (82 percent) at January 2026 (Ofcom Connected Nations 2025; Ofcom Connected Nations Spring 2026 update). |
| Gigabit-capable coverage (UK) | 26.4 million residential premises (87 percent) at July 2025, rising to 89 percent at January 2026 across combined Openreach FTTP, Virgin Media and altnet networks (Ofcom Connected Nations 2025; Ofcom Connected Nations Spring 2026 update). |
| Average advertised entry price (FTTC) | £24 to £28 per month promotional (SearchSwitchSave.com listing data, rolling quarter to 24 May 2026). |
| Average advertised entry price (FTTP) | £25 to £30 per month promotional (SearchSwitchSave.com and BroadbandSwitch.uk listing data, rolling quarter to 24 May 2026). |
| Average advertised gigabit price | £30 to £55 per month depending on provider (SearchSwitchSave.com and BroadbandSwitch.uk listing data, rolling quarter to 24 May 2026). |
| Average advertised speed (UK FTTC) | 67 Mbps |
| Average advertised speed (UK FTTP entry) | 150 Mbps to 500 Mbps depending on provider |
| One Touch Switch volumes | Service live since 12 September 2024. Volumes data pending; Ofcom 2026 trend update expected later in 2026. |
| Last updated | May 2026 |
Regional snapshot
FTTP coverage continues to vary significantly across UK regions. London leads on number of operator choices but not necessarily on absolute coverage percentage. Hull is unique in having near-complete coverage from KCOM. Edinburgh is one of the highest FTTP-coverage major cities in the UK thanks to CityFibre's flagship build. Rural England varies enormously by county, with Cotswolds, Oxfordshire and Devon showing high altnet take-up where Gigaclear, Wessex Internet and Jurassic Fibre are active.
| Region | FTTP coverage indicator | Key altnets |
|---|---|---|
| Greater London | High; multiple altnet overbuild | Community Fibre, Hyperoptic, G.Network |
| South East | Medium to high | Toob, Trooli, Swish Fibre, Lightning Fibre |
| South West | Medium | Truespeed, Wessex Internet, Jurassic Fibre, Gigaclear |
| East of England | Medium | CityFibre (Cambridge, Peterborough, Ipswich, Norwich), Lightspeed |
| East Midlands | Medium | Connect Fibre, Lit Fibre, Lightspeed |
| West Midlands | Medium to high | Brsk, CityFibre (Coventry, Stoke-on-Trent), Airband |
| North West | Medium | Brsk (Lancashire), B4RN, ITS Technology |
| Yorkshire and Humber | Medium to high | Netomnia (Leeds, York), CityFibre (Leeds, Doncaster), MS3, Quickline |
| North East | Medium | Netomnia (Newcastle, Sunderland, Middlesbrough) |
| Scotland | Medium to high | CityFibre (Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Dundee, Stirling), Hyperoptic |
| Wales | Medium | Hyperoptic (Cardiff), Openreach FTTP |
| Northern Ireland | High | Fibrus, Openreach NI |
| Hull (unique) | Very high (near-complete) | KCOM (historic incumbent), MS3, Quickline |
What is moving in 2026
Three structural trends are reshaping the UK fixed-line market in 2026. First, FTTP coverage has crossed 82 percent of UK residential premises (24.9 million homes) as of January 2026, so the consumer question has shifted from "is fibre available?" to "which fibre operator should I choose?" (Ofcom Connected Nations Spring 2026 update).
Second, consolidation is now active. On 18 February 2026, nexfibre Networks Limited (InfraVia, Liberty Global and Telefónica) agreed to acquire Substantial Group (Netomnia, YouFibre, brsk) at an enterprise value of £2 billion, with Virgin Media O2 taking the YouFibre and brsk retail brands for £150 million on completion (expected Q3 2026 subject to CMA clearance). Liberty Global state the transaction will unlock £3.5 billion of further UK investment (nexfibre, 2026; Competition and Markets Authority, 2026).
Third, retail headline speeds are moving beyond a single gigabit. Community Fibre launched a 5 Gbps symmetric residential tariff in April 2025, CityFibre's wholesale platform supports up to 5.5 Gbps, and EE became the first major UK provider to ship Wi-Fi 7 routers as standard across all Full Fibre plans on 12 December 2025, paired with its 1.6 Gbps Openreach FTTP service (Community Fibre, 2025; CityFibre, 2025; EE, 2025). One Touch Switch (live since 12 September 2024) is also reshaping switching mechanics by putting the gaining provider in control of the migration (Ofcom, 2024).
Methodology
Coverage figures are taken directly from Ofcom Connected Nations 2025 (data to July 2025, published 19 November 2025) and the Connected Nations Spring 2026 update (data to January 2026, published 13 May 2026). Average advertised price and speed estimates use rolling-quarter listing data from SearchSwitchSave.com and BroadbandSwitch.uk to 24 May 2026. Where Ofcom or operator data is pending the next publication, the cell reads "data pending" rather than estimating. See methodology for the full source hierarchy and definitions.
How to cite this page
You may reuse this dataset under CC-BY-4.0. Copy the citation below and add the date you retrieved it if you publish later than the refresh shown above.
SearchSwitchSave Group. (2026). UK Broadband Market Pulse 2026. FBRE.uk Research. Data current to 24 May 2026. https://fbre.uk/research/broadband-market-pulse