Advanced Television

UK hits 90% superfast broadband coverage

April 8, 2016

Thinkbroadband reports that the UK now has superfast broadband available to 90 per cent of households.

The broadband information site’s tracking of what Openreach, KCom and Virgin Media have delivered saw the 90 per cent barrier broken on April 5th and the precise figure as of April 7th is 90.012 per cent.

While the 24 Mbps 90 per cent target has been reached, Thinkbroadband says it is not going to stop tracking the coverage, with its next goal being to see 90 per cent breached for 30 Mbps and faster services and then track how the UK is progressing towards the 95 per ent goal, and there will also be the G.fast roll-outs to start tracking. The rise in the Openreach FTTP figures is a mixture of gap funded native FTTP for rural areas and identifying new build estates that have had native FTTP installed in the few 12 months as well as the KCom roll-out in Hull.

Coverage for the slowest users in the UK is improving, but Thinkbroadband sees more movement in the proposed Universal Service Obligation figure of 10 Mbps compared to the 2 Mbps Universal Service Commitment one, the numbers are dropping but as postcodes falling into the 2 Mbps are often the ones with the least premises the effect on the statistics is often minimal.

From the 400+ local authorities across the UK, there are now just five with superfast coverage under 50 per cent, City Of London, Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Western Isles), Kingston Upon Hull, Orkney and Shetland Islands. If you look at the 650 Parliamentary Constituencies there are six under 50 per cent, Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Western Isles), Kingston upon Hull East, Kingston upon Hull North, Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle, Orkney and Shetland and Ross Skye and Lochaber. 433 out of the 650 constituencies are above the 90 per cent mark, 548 at 80 per cent or better, 585 at 75 per cent or better and 610 at 70 per cent or better.

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