📡 Where Are We With UK Full Fibre Rollout?
As of early 2026, approximately 18 million UK premises have access to full-fibre broadband (FTTP), representing around 55% of UK households and businesses. The government's target is 85% coverage by 2025 and 99% by the end of the decade — but the first target is now considered missed.
| Network | Premises Passed | Target Completion | Coverage Areas |
|---|---|---|---|
| Openreach (BT) | ~14 million | Ongoing | Nationwide, focus on towns 5,000+ |
| CityFibre | 3.5 million | 2025 (285 towns) | Focus on Tier 2/3 towns |
| Virgin Media O2 | ~5 million (coax) | Gig1 upgrades ongoing | Urban/suburban |
| Alt-nets (combined) | ~2 million | Ongoing | Selective urban areas |
📍 Coverage by Region — What Businesses in the Midlands and North Can Expect
The Midlands has benefited significantly from CityFibre's rollout, with Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Coventry, Derby, Leicester and Stoke-on-Trent all substantially covered. In these cities, businesses can typically get FTTP from either Openreach or CityFibre, providing genuine competition and driving prices down.
In rural Staffordshire, Shropshire, Worcestershire and North Wales, Openreach FTTP coverage is significantly lower. Many of these areas are served by the government's Project Gigabit programme — but build timelines are 2025–2027 for most rural communities.
🔧 What Businesses Can Do While Waiting for Full Fibre
- FTTC with upgrade monitoring: Stay on your current connection and set a reminder to check FTTP availability every 6 months. Coverage expands continuously.
- 4G/5G business broadband: In many rural areas, 4G delivers 50–150Mbps — faster than existing FTTC and sufficient for VoIP, cloud apps and general use.
- Starlink Business: The satellite option has transformed rural connectivity. 100–300Mbps with low latency is achievable anywhere in the UK with line-of-sight to sky.
- Leased line: If your business genuinely needs guaranteed bandwidth now, a leased line is available to any UK premises — albeit at higher cost.
🏠 How to Check FTTP Availability at Your Address
The simplest check: visit Telexico's availability checker and enter your full postcode. We check live against both Openreach and CityFibre databases and show you everything available — including build dates for areas where FTTP is coming but not yet live.
Check FTTP availability at your business address — Openreach and CityFibre checked simultaneously.
Check Full Fibre Availability →