July 2020 update on broadband availability across the UK, nations and regions
It is the 7th of the month so time for our regular update on where the various nations and regions of the UK stand in respect to the various broadband targets.
The FTTP roll-outs are continuing to accelerate and we only hit the 15% mark on 16th July and the roll-outs have pushed this to 15.48% as of 7th August. 15% is of course not a massive figure hence the regular complaints in comments about the state of UK FTTP availability but the key message is that things are changing and the pace is picking up.
The improved pace of the FTTP roll-outs is very apparent when you look at the change figures for UK from 12 months ago, when for all operators the change was 0.43 compared to 0.67 this month, and for Openreach its 0.29 versus 0.52. Whether this is enough to reach the 100% Gigabit is hard to predict and every month that passes without the Government announcing which firm or firms have the contracts for the final 10 to 20% makes reaching that target on time harder.
Scotland has moved up into third place courtesy of the Gigabit switch-on from Virgin Media. With the North East region propping up the bottom of the table with just 5.73% Gigabit coverage the roll-out of services is looking unfair but it will only take a DOCSIS 3.1 in a couple of cities to jump the Gigabit coverage levels in the region.
| thinkbroadband analysis of Superfast, USC, USO and Full Fibre Broadband Coverage across the UK, its nations and regions for premises In descending order of Gigabit coverage - figures 7th August 2020 (change since 7th July 2020) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Area | % full and partial fibre based i.e. VDSL2, G.fast or FTTP or Cable | % superfast 30 Mbps or faster | % Ultrafast 100 Mbps or faster FTTP, cable, G.fast | Gigabit | % Full Fibre All Providers Openreach and KCOM FTTP | % Under 2 Mbps download | % Below USO 10 Mbps download |
| Northern Ireland | 99.3% | 89.2% (+1) | 59.2% (+1.2) | 49.37% | 49.37% (+1.67) 43.26% (+2.47) |
4.0% | 6.9% (=) |
| 840,652 Premises | 835,063 | 749,696 | 497,268 | 415,051 | 415,051 363,659 |
33,819 | 57,669 |
| West Midlands | 99% | 97.7% (+0.1) | 71.9% (+0.4) | 46.03% | 13.33% (+0.73) 9.35% (+0.6) |
0.2% | 0.7% (-0.1) |
| 2,939,429 Premises | 2,908,912 | 2,870,551 | 2,114,428 | 1,353,111 | 394,780 274,707 |
5,961 | 21,853 |
| Scotland | 98% | 94.3% (=) | 53.4% (+0.5) | 40.87% | 12.92% (+0.88) 6.91% (+0.69) |
1.2% | 3.2% (=) |
| 2,751,141 Premises | 2,695,206 | 2,594,758 | 1,467,788 | 1,124,500 | 355,529 190,185 |
32,310 | 87,783 |
| North West | 99% | 97.0% (=) | 58.7% (+0.5) | 33.3% | 14.17% (+0.67) 10.15% (+0.66) |
0.4% | 1.2% (=) |
| 4,127,019 Premises | 4,086,100 | 4,003,483 | 2,421,004 | 1,374,501 | 584,646 419,031 |
18,080 | 48,260 |
| Yorkshire and Humber | 98.8% | 97% (=) | 65% (+0.3) | 32.97% | 20.41% (+1.25) 14.4% (+0.3)(includes KCom Lightstream) |
0.4% | 1.1% (=) |
| 2,710,261 Premises | 2,677,260 | 2,629,587 | 1,760,620 | 893,476 | 580,330 390,196 |
10,172 | 29,181 |
| United Kingdom | 98.7% | 96.4% (=) | 62.1% (+0.4) | 25.73% | 15.48% (+0.67) 9.47% (+0.52) (includes KCom Lightstream) |
0.5% | 1.5% (=) |
| 30,513,074 Premises | 30,116,322 | 29,421,683 | 18,941,805 | 7,850,521 | 4,724,081 2,890,492 |
155,658 | 442,468 |
| Great Britain | 98.7% | 96.6% (=) | 62.2% (+0.4) | 25.06% | 14.52% (+0.64) 8.52% (+0.47)(includes KCom Lightstream) |
0.4% | 1.3% (=) |
| 29,672,422 Premises | 29,281,259 | 28,671,987 | 18,444,537 | 7,435,470 | 4,309,030 2,526,833 |
121,839 | 384,799 |
| England | 98.8% | 97% (+0.1) | 64.4% (+0.3) | 23.96% | 14.68% (+0.62) 8.52% (+0.45)(includes KCom Lightstream) |
0.3% | 1% (=) |
| 25,420,625 Premises | 25,114,963 | 24,651,133 | 16,373,664 | 6,089,801 | 3,732,332 2,164,978 |
78,660 | 259,074 |
| South East | 99.2% | 97.5% (=) | 62.3% (+0.4) | 23.03% | 11.79% (+0.46) 4.81% (+0.23) |
0.2% | 0.7% (=) |
| 2,290,058 Premises | 2,272,655 | 2,233,360 | 1,427,695 | 527,324 | 269,962 110,064 |
4,344 | 16,119 |
| London | 98.4% | 97.6% (+0.1) | 78% (+0.2) | 18.18% | 18.18% (+0.52) 7.41% (+0.26) |
0.1% | 0.5% (=) |
| 4,707,321 Premises | 4,634,028 | 4,592,380 | 3,672,600 | 855,703 | 855,703 348,893 |
4,213 | 22,838 |
| South West | 98.4% | 95.3% (=) | 54.2% (+0.4) | 17.34% | 16.38% (+0.58) 10.77% (+0.45) |
0.6% | 1.9% (=) |
| 3,737,788 Premises | 3,679,123 | 3,561,855 | 2,025,644 | 647,987 | 612,212 402,632 |
21,700 | 70,539 |
| Wales | 98% | 95.0% (-0.1) | 40.2% (+0.3) | 14.74% | 14.74% (+0.63) 11.44% (+0.45) |
0.7% | 2.5% (=) |
| 1,500,656 Premises | 1,471,090 | 1,426,096 | 603,085 | 221,169 | 221,169 171,670 |
10,869 | 37,942 |
| East Midlands | 99.3% | 97.7% (=) | 66.2% (+0.4) | 11.19% |
11.19% (+1.01) |
0.2% | 0.8% (=) |
| 1,168,936 Premises | 1,161,104 | 1,142,358 | 773,371 | 130,816 |
130,816 |
2,785 | 8,797 |
| East of England | 98.8% | 96.4% (+0.1) | 57.6% (+0.3) | 9.08% | 9.08% (+0.58) 4.73% (+0.48) |
0.4% | 1.2% (-0.1) |
| 2,766,984 Premises | 2,734,624 | 2,666,760 | 1,594,885 | 251,158 | 251,158 130,918 |
9,517 | 34,233 |
| North East | 98.8% | 97.7% (=) | 60% (+0.2) | 5.73% | 5.73% (+0.46) 2.1% (+0.34) |
0.2% | 0.8% (=) |
| 972,829 Premises | 961,157 | 950,799 | 583,417 | 55,725 | 55,725 20,473 |
1,888 | 7,641 |
The focus for the last month has not just been on the Gigabit and FTTP services we have continued to work our way across Wales particularly with respect to the number of premises in each area. The changes in the premises counts are what has caused the superfast figure to dip slightly again, rather than some VDSL2 or FTTP vanishing.
Comments
Whereabouts in the country are you Sheephouse, approximately ?
I'm in the Northern Lot for R100 in Moray Scotland, one of the 1.2% in scotland under 2M Download. (on fixed lines services) or One of the bottom 0.5% in the UK if you prefer :)
Also in a poor mobile reception area at ground level, loads of dead spots as you drive around here, Count myself very fortunate that from the chimney I can point a 4G antenna to a fairly distant mast and pull a decent connection, I think it's going to be a very long time before any other options appear.
I am in the same situation - semi-rural South-West near Ayr and Prestwick. FTTC is available at 5.0down, 0.8up but 4G mobile is very patchy as we live in a shadow area over a crest. My serving 4G mast is a good distance away too. Virgin Media go past us a mile away but have "no plans to expand into your area". With the use of a tall pole I can get daytime 4G speeds of 10-15Mbps so I am currently investigating a directional antenna. I reckon it will be a pretty safe investment I will get years of use out of.
Note the figures for Scotland suggest any improvements are premises that already had 30Mbps and over. Again in rural SW ADSL2+ 3.5down, 0.38up, moved to 4G on Three, slightly eratic, but always faster when it works.
I'm in the southern part of the Forest of Dean - one the 10% that are still sub-10Mbps (15% are sub-superfast). We are part of the much delayed Gigaclear build, which was due for completion in 2018, but which is now due to start this quarter (it was due to start last quarter too). There is still no evidence of any work in progress, or being prepared, so I expect it to slip again.
Fortunately I can get 4G, but it is no substitute for a good fixed line.
As usual there is good progress in gigabit coverage, but hardly any drop in sub-USO connections. Very disappointing for those of us with sub-USO fixed line options.