Our 2026 report on planned deployments of very high-capacity networks examines the increase in full-fibre and gigabit-capable network coverage anticipated by the end of 2028. It also covers the plans of operators of fixed wireless access (FWA) networks to extend or upgrade their networks to support very high-speed broadband services.
The report is based on the stated deployment plans of network operators as of January 2026 over the next three years.
The plans include those that are privately funded as well as any plans that are supported through public funds or intervention. However, the report only focuses on network operators’ planned deployments and does not take separate account of any aspirations or plans by public authorities, whether national or local, to roll out networks in their geographical areas.
This forward-looking report supplements our Connected Nations Spring 2026 update, which is a snapshot of existing network coverage as of January 2026.
Key findings
- Full fibre could be available to 28.1 million UK homes (92% of all residential properties) by the end of 2028. [1,2] If all planned deployments are realised, the number of homes with access to full fibre will increase from 24.9 million (82%) as of January 2026 to 28.1 million by January 2029. During the same period gigabit-capable coverage could increase to 29 million homes (95%), up from 27.1 million (89%).
- The total planned build is lower than reported last year, but planned build which operators have higher confidence of achieving has increased. [3] If all plans are realised, full-fibre coverage by January 2028 is now projected to be 90%, down from 95% reported last year. However, if only High Confidence plans are considered, full-fibre coverage could be 87% by January 2028 (versus 86% based on last year’s plans) and 88% by January 2029.
- All the UK’s nations are expected to see an increase in full-fibre availability, but each is affected by the latest build plans in different ways. If all plans are realised, then the projected coverage by January 2029 would be one to two percentage points lower for England, Scotland and Wales, compared with the projected coverage by January 2028 reported last year, whereas for Northern Ireland it would remain at 99%. If only High Confidence plans are considered, Northern Ireland would see a one percentage point drop, but the other nations would see slightly higher full-fibre coverage by January 2028 than reported last year, with a further increase in the following 12 months.
- Both rural and urban areas are being targeted by network operators. If all plans are realised, the number of homes with gigabit-capable coverage in urban areas could increase from 24.2 million (93%) as of January 2026 to 25.3 million (97%) by January 2029, and from 2.9 million (66%) to 3.7 million (86%) in rural areas.
- There are build plans for all local authorities and we estimate that 95% of local authorities will see at least 85% gigabit-capable coverage of residential premises by January 2029 if all plans are realised. Some plans will add to existing coverage, while others will overbuild existing (or other planned) networks. We estimate that 73% of UK homes (22.2 million) will have access to at least two gigabit-capable networks, and 36% (11.1 million) to at least three gigabit-capable networks by the end of 2028.
- We also anticipate an expansion of FWA networks offering high-speed broadband services (at least 100 Mbit/s download speeds). Our data shows that around 6,950 additional, geographically distinct, FWA masts are being planned or set to be upgraded across the UK between January 2026 and January 2029.
Footnotes
1. To remain consistent with the main Connected Nations reports, all results in these key findings refer to residential properties only. Results for all premises, i.e. residential and business, are provided in one of the files with planned network deployments for local authorities.
2. All coverage is reported as a percentage of the same premise base as used for the Connected Nations Spring 2026 update, which includes 30.5 million residential premises. See the Methodology annex for further details.
3. We asked network operators to confirm both the financial and planning status of their planned network deployments. Specifically, we asked whether the plans had reached a design stage of ‘Low Level Design Complete’ and whether funding had been committed for the plans. These criteria were chosen to align with the classifications and criteria set out in BDUK’s National Rolling Open Market Review
(National Rolling Open Market Review September 2025 Request For Information - GOV.UK). In this report, we consider plans to be of ‘High Confidence’ if they have reached at least the ‘Low Level Design Complete’ stage and funding has been committed.