These findings were included in the regulator’s annual Connected Nations report, which measures the availability of broadband and mobile services across the UK. The report found that more than four in ten homes can now access faster, more reliable internet connections, with the rollout of full fibre continuing at record pace.
The vast majority (97 per cent) of UK homes can now get superfast broadband, which provides download speeds of at least 30 Mbit/s. The report showed the gap between availability and connections, with more than a quarter (27 per cent) who have access to superfast broadband yet to take it up.
Lindsey Fussell, network and communications group director, Ofcom, explained, “Millions more people are benefitting from faster, more reliable internet as the rapid rollout of full-fibre broadband continues.
“It’s also encouraging to see more people in hard-to-reach areas get access to decent broadband, as work continues to connect rural communities.”
Nearly 80,000 homes and businesses (0.3 per cent) do not have access to ‘decent’ broadband, defined by the government as offering download speeds of 10 Mbit/s and upload speeds of 1 Mbit/s. Many of these are in the hardest-to-reach parts of the UK.
This figure has fallen from 123,000 last year, and Ofcom said it estimates that a further 15,000 of these premises will be covered by publicly-funded rollout schemes in the next 12 months.
The rollout of 5G has also rapidly increased in the last year, with Ofcom estimating that around seven in ten UK properties are in areas where 5G is available from at least one mobile network operator, up from about half last year.