- More than seven in 10 Scottish homes now have access to fastest broadband services
- Take-up of full-fibre broadband increasing, but many not making the most of it
- 5G coverage and deployments improving in Scotland at gradual rate
In the last year, a quarter of a million additional residential premises in Scotland have gained potential access to full-fibre networks, according to the Connected Nations 2025: Scotland report
Full-fibre and gigabit-capable coverage and take-up growing
Ofcom’s annual report has found that, as of July 2025, over seven in ten (71%) residential premises in Scotland now have access to full-fibre coverage. This is an increase of nine percentage points from last year, and represents 250,000 more premises having access to full fibre compared to July 2024, taking the overall number of premises with potential access to over 1.9 million. Additionally, over eight in ten (81%) homes now have access to gigabit-capable networks.
By using fibre optic cables all the way to the home instead of copper lines, full-fibre broadband is faster and more reliable. Full fibre networks, as well as cable, can potentially deliver speeds of one gigabit per second (Gbit/s) or higher, which means a better experience when doing activities like streaming, gaming and making video calls.
Our findings show that while many Scottish households have yet sign up for full-fibre, an increasing number are taking advantage of these benefits. Take-up in July 2025 rose to 43% of Scottish premises where these services are available, up from 35% last year and in line with the UK average of 42%.
Fixed connectivity not-spots reducing but still exist
As new technologies continue to be deployed the number of premises unable to access decent broadband[1] in Scotland continues to fall. 10,000 (0.4%) of premises in Scotland cannot access decent broadband from fixed landlines or Fixed Wireless Access (FWA), a decrease of 5,000 premises over the last year.
Additionally, there are now over 15,000 Starlink satellite broadband subscribers in Scotland – many in harder to reach areas of the country for other technologies, with Amazon Leo planning to offer direct to consumer broadband from the end of 2025.[2]
Gradual growth in levels of 5G mobile coverage
The transition to ‘full 5G’, also known as 5G standalone (SA), coverage is now well underway in Scotland, although still sitting behind the rest of the UK, while overall 5G coverage continues to improve. Across the four Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), outside premises 5G coverage ranges from 59% to 84% at the High Confidence level[3] (up from 54% to 76% in September 2024).
Following last year’s substantial improvements – driven in part by the impact of the Scottish Government-funded 4G Infill Programme and the UK Government-funded Shared Rural Network programme – 4G geographic mobile coverage has been sustained, with one to two percentage point increases across MNOs. 4G networks continue to carry 77% of total mobile traffic in Scotland in July 2025.
Glenn Preston, Ofcom’s Scotland Director, said: “It is positive to see the continued rise in the availability and take-up of full fibre broadband in Scotland, delivering benefits for both work and leisure at home. However, some households are still not able to access, or are choosing not to take up, this enhanced connectivity.
“Further innovation and investment in fixed and mobile communications is vital for economic growth across all of Scotland, which Ofcom will continue to support through our regulation .”
[1] ‘Decent’ broadband is currently defined by the UK Government as delivering at least 10 Mbit/s download and 1 Mbit/s upload speeds.
[2] Project Kuiper receives approval to offer satellite internet in the UK - About Amazon UK
[3] ‘Full 5G’ is a synonym for 5G standalone. Many of these sites may still be sharing spectrum with 4G services.