Telecommunications Market Data Update

Published: 22 October 2020
Last updated: 10 April 2025

In the following section we highlight some of the key trends emerging this quarter from the data we collect on the UK telecommunications sector.

Fixed voice services

  • UK fixed voice service revenues totalled £1.15bn in Q4 2024; a decrease of £43.4m (3.6%) from the previous quarter and a decrease of £157.4m (12.0%) year-on-year. BT’s share of these revenues was 49.8%.
  • The total number of fixed lines (including PSTN lines, ISDN channels and managed VoIP connections) declined by 1.2 million (4.8%) during the quarter to 23.8 million.
  • Total fixed-originated call volumes fell by 1375 million minutes (25.0%) year on year, to 4.12 billion minutes.

Fixed broadband services

  • There were 29.2 million fixed broadband lines at the end of Q4 2024, an increase of 691k (2.4%) year on year.
  • There were 22.0 million ‘other inc. FTTx’ broadband connections (predominantly fibre-to-the-cabinet and full fibre connections) at the end of Q4 2024, accounting for 75.6% of all lines.
  • The number of ADSL lines decreased by 121k (6.2%) during the quarter, while the number of cable lines fell by 36k (0.7%) and the number of ‘other inc. FTTx’ lines grew by 223k (1.0%).

Mobile services

  • Mobile telephony services generated £3.53bn in retail revenues in Q4 2024, a £46.4m (1.3%) increase from a year previously.
  • Average monthly retail revenue per subscriber was £13.21 in Q4 2024, with post-pay subscribers generating more revenue than pre-pay users (averaging £15.97 compared to £5.26 for pre-pay).
  • The number of active mobile subscriptions (excluding M2M) was 88.9 million at the end of Q4 2024, down 259k (0.3%) from the year before.
  • Over the same period, the number of dedicated mobile broadband subscriptions decreased by 32k (0.7%) to 4.8 million.
  • The number of mobile-originated voice call minutes declined by 3.20 billion (7.7%) to 38.62 billion minutes year-on-year, with calls to landlines decreasing by 11.3% to 6.55 billion minutes.
  • The number of mobile messages (including SMS and MMS) saw a year-on-year decline, down 1.11 billion messages (14.3%) to 6.70 billion.
  • Data usage increased, with volumes up 178 PB (7.2%) year-on-year to 2652 PB.

Q4 - 2024

Telecommunications data revenues, volumes and market share update Q4 2024 (PDF)

Telecommunications data revenues, volumes and market share update Q4 2024 (CSV)

In the following section we highlight some of the key trends emerging this quarter from the data we collect on the UK telecommunications sector.

Fixed voice services

  • UK retail fixed voice revenues totalled £1.19bn in Q3 2024; a fall of £19.9m (1.6%) compared to the previous quarter and a decrease of £101.0m (7.8%) year-on-year. BT’s share of these revenues was 50.6%.
  • The total number of fixed lines (including PSTN lines, ISDN channels and managed VoIP connections) declined by 986k (3.8%) during the quarter to 25.0 million.
  • Total fixed-originated call volumes fell by 1.41 billion minutes (24.9%) year on year, to 4.25 billion minutes.

Fixed broadband services

  • There were 29.1 million fixed broadband lines at the end of Q3 2024, an increase of 682k (2.4%) year on year.
  • There were 21.8 million ‘other inc. FTTx’ broadband connections (predominantly fibre-to-the-cabinet and full fibre connections) at the end of Q3 2024, accounting for three-quarters (75%) of all lines.
  • The number of ADSL lines declined by 128k (6.1%) during the quarter, while the number of cable lines fell by 22k (0.4%) and the number of ‘other inc. FTTx’ lines grew by 235k (1.1%).

Mobile services

  • Mobile telephony services generated £3.59bn in retail revenues in Q3 2024, a £63.3m (1.8%) increase from a year previously.
  • Average monthly retail revenue per subscriber was £13.37 in Q3 2024, with post-pay subscribers generating more revenue than pre-pay users (averaging £16.17 compared to £5.35 for pre-pay).
  • The number of active mobile subscriptions (excluding M2M) was 89.5 million at the end of Q3 2024, up 558k (0.6%) from the year before.
  • Over the same period, the number of dedicated mobile broadband subscriptions declined by 31k (0.6%) to 4.8 million.
  • The number of mobile-originated voice call minutes declined by 1.97 billion (4.9%) to 38.36 billion minutes year-on-year, with calls to landlines decreasing by 8.9% to 6.65 billion minutes.
  • The number of mobile messages (including SMS and MMS) saw a year-on-year decline, down 0.86 billion messages (11.0%) to 6.93 billion.
  • Data usage grew, with volumes up 187 PB (7.7%) year-on-year to 2,624 PB.

Q3 - 2024

Telecommunications data revenues, volumes and market share update Q3 2024 (PDF)

Telecommunications data revenues, volumes and market share update Q2 2024 (CSV)

In the following section we highlight some of the key trends emerging this quarter from the data we collect on the UK telecommunications sector.

Fixed voice services

  • UK fixed voice service revenues totalled £1.19bn in Q2 2024; a decrease of £44.0m (3.6%) from the previous quarter and £122.7m (9.3%) year-on-year. BT’s share of these revenues was 50.8%.
  • The total number of fixed voice lines (including PSTN lines, ISDN channels and managed VoIP connections) fell by 666k (2.6%) during the quarter to 25.4 million. Year-on-year, the number of fixed lines was down by 3.1 million (10.8%).
  • Total fixed-originated call volumes decreased by 1.22 billion minutes (21.5%) year on year, to 4.46 billion minutes.

Fixed broadband services

We have added around 20 broadband providers to our data collection programme, with Q2 2024 being the first quarter for which they submitted data. As a result, the total and ‘other inc. FTTx’ fixed broadband lines figures for Q2 2024 are not comparable to those for previous periods.

  • There were 29.0 million UK fixed broadband lines at the end of Q2 2024.
  • Of these, 21.6 million were ‘other inc. FTTx’ broadband connections (predominantly fibre-to-the-cabinet and full fibre connections), accounting for 74.4% of all lines.
  • The number of ADSL lines declined by 119k (5.4%) during the quarter, while the number of cable lines fell by 41k (0.8%).

Mobile services

  • Mobile telephony services generated £3.58bn in retail revenues in Q2 2024, a £97.2m (2.8%) increase from a year previously.
  • Average monthly retail revenue per subscriber was £13.36 in Q2 2024, with post-pay subscribers generating more revenue than pre-pay users (averaging £16.08 compared to £5.47 for pre-pay).
  • The number of active mobile subscriptions (excluding M2M) was 89.6 million at the end of Q2 2024, up 2.1 million (2.4%) from the year before.
  • Over the same period, the number of dedicated mobile broadband subscriptions decreased by 305k (6.2%) to 4.6 million.
  • The number of mobile-originated voice call minutes decreased by 1.01 billion (2.5%) to 39.50 billion minutes year-on-year, with calls to landlines decreasing by 4.4% to 6.86 billion minutes.
  • The number of mobile messages (including SMS and MMS) saw a year-on-year decline, down 0.90 billion messages (11.3%) to 7.04 billion.
  • Data usage grew, with volumes up 315 PB (13.7%) year-on-year to 2609 PB.

Telecommunications data revenues, volumes and market share update Q2 2024 (PDF)

Telecommunications data revenues, volumes and market share update Q2 2024 (CSV)

In the following section we highlight some of the key trends emerging this quarter from the data we collect on the UK telecommunications sector.

Fixed voice services

  • UK fixed voice service revenues totalled £1.22bn in Q1 2024; a decrease of £81.3m (6.3%) from the previous quarter and a decrease of £112.9m (8.5%) year-on-year. BT’s share of these revenues was 51.9%.
  • The total number of fixed lines (including PSTN lines, ISDN channels and managed VoIP connections) declined by 588k (2.2%) during the quarter to 26.1 million.
  • Total fixed-originated call volumes fell by 1,431 million minutes (22.1%) year on year, to 5.05 billion minutes.

Fixed broadband services

  • There were 28.5 million fixed broadband lines at the end of Q1 2024, an increase of 89k (0.3%) year-on-year but unchanged quarter-on-quarter.
  • There were 20.9 million ‘other inc. FTTx’ broadband connections (predominantly fibre-to-the-cabinet and full fibre connections) at the end of Q1 2024, accounting for 73.4% of all lines.
  • The number of ADSL lines fell by 97k (4.2%) during the quarter, while the number of cable lines decreased by 165k (3.0%) and the number of ‘other inc. FTTx’ lines increased by 262k (1.3%).

Mobile services

  • Mobile telephony services generated £3.41bn in retail revenues in Q1 2024, a £227.7m (7.2%) increase from a year previously.
  • Average monthly retail revenue per subscriber was £12.75 in Q1 2024, with post-pay subscribers generating more revenue than pre-pay users (averaging £15.29 compared to £5.36 for pre-pay).
  • The number of active mobile subscriptions (excluding M2M) was 89.0 million at the end of Q1 2024, up 2.2 million (2.5%) from the year before.
  • Over the same period, the number of dedicated mobile broadband subscriptions decreased by 185k (3.8%) to 4.7 million.
  • The number of mobile-originated voice call minutes decreased by 914.4 million (2.2%) to 41.19 billion minutes year-on-year, with calls to landlines decreasing by 5.9% to 7.31 billion minutes.
  • The number of mobile messages (including SMS and MMS) saw a year-on-year decline, down 0.83 billion messages (10.2%) to 7.31 billion.
  • Data usage increased, with volumes up 297 PB (13.5%) year-on-year to 2497 PB.

Telecommunications data revenues, volumes and market share update Q1 2024 (PDF)

Telecommunications data revenues, volumes and market share update Q1 2024 (CSV)

In the following section we highlight some of the key trends emerging this quarter from the data we collect on the UK telecommunications sector.

Fixed voice services

  • UK fixed voice service revenues totalled £1.30bn in Q4 2023; an increase of £3.0m (0.2%) from the previous quarter and a decrease of £91.9m (6.6%) year-on-year. BT’s share of these revenues was 51.4%.
  • The total number of fixed lines (including PSTN lines, ISDN channels and managed VoIP connections) fell by 967k (3.5%) during the quarter to 26.6 million.
  • Total fixed-originated call volumes fell by 1403 million minutes (20.6%) year on year, to 5.42 billion minutes.

Fixed broadband services

  • There were 28.2 million fixed broadband lines at the end of Q4 2023, an increase of 38k (0.1%) year on year.
  • There were 20.4 million ‘other inc. FTTx’ broadband connections (predominantly fibre-to-the-cabinet and full fibre connections) at the end of Q4 2023, accounting for 72.2% of all lines.
  • The number of ADSL lines decreased by 120k (5.0%) during the quarter, while the number of cable lines increased by 86k (1.6%) and the number of ‘other inc. FTTx’ lines grew by 136k (0.7%).

Mobile services

  • Mobile telephony services generated £3.49bn in retail revenues in Q4 2023, a £215.3m (6.6%) increase from a year previously.
  • The number of active mobile subscriptions (excluding M2M) was 89.2 million at the end of Q4 2023, up 2.5 million (2.9%) from the year before.
  • Over the same period, the number of dedicated mobile broadband subscriptions decreased by 145k (2.9%) to 4.8 million.
  • Average monthly retail revenue per subscriber was £13.05 in Q4 2023, with post-pay subscribers generating more revenue than pre-pay users (averaging £15.79 compared to £5.33 for pre-pay).
  • The number of mobile-originated voice call minutes fell by 274.3 million (0.7%) to 41.82 billion minutes year-on-year, with calls to landlines decreasing by 13.5% to 7.39 billion minutes.
  • The number of mobile messages (including SMS and MMS) saw a year-on-year decline, down 0.98 billion messages (11.1%) to 7.82 billion.
  • Data usage grew, with volumes up 324 PB (15.1%) year-on-year to 2474 PB.

Telecommunications data revenues, volumes and market share update Q4 2023 (PDF, 392.4 KB)

Telecommunications data revenues, volumes and market share update Q4 2023 (CSV, 119.9 KB)

In the following section we highlight some of the key trends emerging this quarter from the data we collect on the UK telecommunications sector.

Fixed voice services

  • UK fixed voice service revenues totalled £1.30bn in Q3 2023; a decrease of £18.6m (1.4%) from the previous quarter and £117.8m (8.3%) year-on-year. BT’s share of these revenues was 49.3%.
  • The total number of fixed lines (including PSTN lines, ISDN channels and managed VoIP connections) declined by 950k (3.3%) during the quarter to 27.6 million.
  • Total fixed-originated call volumes fell by 1328 million minutes (18.9%) year on year, to 5.69 billion minutes.

Fixed broadband services

  • There were 28.6 million fixed broadband lines at the end of Q3 2023, an increase of 528k (1.9%) year on year.
  • There were 20.8 million ‘other inc. FTTx’ broadband connections (predominantly fibre-to-the-cabinet and full fibre connections) at the end of Q3 2023, accounting for 72.8% of all lines.
  • The number of ADSL lines fell by 155k (6.2%) during the quarter, while the number of cable lines grew by 28k (0.5%) and the number of ‘other inc. FTTx’ lines increased by 499k (2.5%).

Mobile services

  • Mobile telephony services generated £3.51bn in retail revenues in Q3 2023, a £144.2m (4.3%) increase from a year previously.
  • Average monthly retail revenue per subscriber was £13.30 in Q3 2023, with post-pay subscribers generating more revenue than pre-pay users (averaging £16.22 compared to £5.19 for pre-pay).
  • The number of active mobile subscriptions (excluding M2M) was 88.7 million at the end of Q3 2023, up 1.5 million (1.7%) from the year before.
  • Over the same period, the number of dedicated mobile broadband subscriptions declined by 172k (3.5%) to 4.8 million.
  • The number of mobile-originated voice call minutes declined by 3.53 billion (8.5%) to 37.98 billion minutes year-on-year, with calls to landlines decreasing by 13.4% to 7.39 billion minutes.
  • The number of mobile messages (including SMS and MMS) saw a year-on-year decline, down 1.72 billion messages (18.9%) to 7.38 billion.
  • Data usage increased, with volumes up 363 PB (18.9%) year-on-year to 2286 PB.

Telecommunications data revenues, volumes and market share update Q3 2023 (PDF, 373.2 KB)

Telecommunications data revenues, volumes and market share update Q3 2023 (CSV, 115.4 KB)

In the following section we highlight some of the key trends emerging this quarter from the data we collect on the UK telecommunications sector.

Fixed voice services

  • UK fixed voice service revenues totalled £1.32bn in Q2 2023; a decline of £12.1m (0.9%) from the previous quarter and £120.9m (8.4%) year-on-year. BT’s share of these revenues was 49.6%.
  • The total number of fixed lines (including PSTN lines, ISDN channels and managed VoIP connections) fell by 858k (2.9%) during the quarter to 28.6 million.
  • Total fixed-originated call volumes fell by 1528 million minutes (19.2%) year on year, to 6.44 billion minutes.

Fixed broadband services

  • There were 28.2 million fixed broadband lines at the end of Q2 2023, an increase of 139k (0.5%) year on year.
  • There were 20.3 million ‘other inc. FTTx’ broadband connections (predominantly fibre-to-the-cabinet and full fibre connections) at the end of Q2 2023, accounting for 72.0% of all lines.
  • The number of ADSL lines declined by 165k (6.2%) during the quarter, while the number of cable lines declined by 46k (0.8%) and the number of ‘other inc. FTTx’ lines grew by 248k (1.2%).

Mobile services

  • Mobile telephony services generated £3.47bn in retail revenues in Q2 2023, a £249.0m (7.7%) increase from a year previously.
  • Average monthly retail revenue per subscriber was £13.32 in Q2 2023, with post-pay subscribers generating more revenue than pre-pay users (averaging £16.18 compared to £5.18 for pre-pay).
  • The number of active mobile subscriptions (excluding M2M) was 87.1 million at the end of Q2 2023, down 504k (0.6%) from the year before.
  • Over the same period, the number of dedicated mobile broadband subscriptions decreased by 54k (1.1%) to 4.9 million.
  • The number of mobile-originated voice call minutes fell by 3.25 billion (7.8%) to 38.66 billion minutes year-on-year, with calls to landlines decreasing by 12.2% to 7.52 billion minutes.
  • The number of mobile messages (including SMS and MMS) saw a year-on-year decline, down 1.41 billion messages (15.5%) to 7.64 billion.
  • Data usage grew, with volumes up 470 PB (27.0%) year-on-year to 2213 PB.

Telecommunications data revenues, volumes and market share update Q2 2023 (PDF, 369.0 KB)

Telecommunications data revenues, volumes and market share update Q2 2023 (CSV, 135.5 KB)

In the following section we highlight some of the key trends emerging this quarter from the data we collect on the UK telecommunications sector.

Fixed voice services

  • UK fixed voice service revenues totalled £1.33bn in Q1 2023; a decrease of £59m (4.3%) from the previous quarter and £118m (8.2%) year-on-year. BT’s share of these revenues was 49.3%.
  • The number of fixed exchange lines (including PSTN, ISDN and managed VoIP connections) fell by 667k (2.2%) during the quarter to 29.4 million. This decline is due to the growing availability and take-up of standalone broadband services and the decline of residential landlines.
  • Total fixed-originated call volumes decreased by 1498 million minutes (17.1%) year on year, to 7.3 billion minutes.

Fixed broadband services

  • There were 28.1 million fixed broadband lines at the end of Q1 2023, an increase of 261k (0.9%) year-on-year.
  • There were 20.0 million ‘other inc. FTTx’ broadband connections (predominantly fibre-to-the cabinet and full fibre connections) at the end of Q1 2023, accounting for 71.1% of all lines.
  • The number of ADSL lines fell by 176k (6.2%) during the quarter, while the number of cable lines increased by 25k (0.5%) and the number of ‘other inc. FTTx’ lines increased by 368k (1.9%).

Mobile services

  • Mobile telephony services generated £3.2bn in retail revenues in Q1 2023, a £113.3 (3.7%) increase from a year previously.
  • Average monthly retail revenue per subscriber was £12.17 in Q1 2023, with post-pay subscribers generating more revenue than pre-pay users (averaging £14.64 compared to £5.04 for pre-pay).
  • The number of active mobile subscriptions (excluding M2M) was 86.9 million at the end of Q1 2023, up 1.6 million (1.9%) from the year before.
  • Over the same period, the number of dedicated mobile broadband subscriptions grew by 168k (3.3%) to 5.2 million.
  • The number of mobile-originated voice call minutes decreased by 2.4 billion (5.4%) to 42.3 billion minutes year-on-year, with calls to landlines decreasing by 11.3% to 8.4 billion minutes.
  • The number of mobile messages (including SMS and MMS) saw a year-on-year decline, down 1.6 billion messages (17.1%) to 7.9 billion.

Telecommunications data revenues, volumes and market share update Q1 2023 (PDF, 358.5 KB)

Telecommunications data revenues, volumes and market share update Q1 2023 (CSV, 134.4 KB)

In the following section we highlight some of the key trends emerging this quarter from the data we collect on the UK telecommunications sector.

Fixed voice services

  • UK fixed voice service revenues totalled £1.39bn in Q4 2022; a decrease of £28m (2.0%) from the previous quarter and £99m (6.6%) year-on-year. BT’s share of these revenues was 49.1%.
  • The number of fixed exchange lines (including PSTN, ISDN and managed VoIP connections) fell by 751k (2.5%) during the quarter to 29.8 million. This decline is due to the growing availability and take-up of standalone broadband services.
  • Total fixed-originated call volumes decreased by 176 million minutes (2.2%) during the quarter, to 7.6 billion minutes.

Fixed broadband services

  • There were 28.0 million fixed broadband lines at the end of Q4 2022, an increase of 185k (0.7%) year-on-year.
  • There were 19.7 million ‘other inc. FTTx’ broadband connections (predominantly fibre-to-the cabinet and full fibre connections) at the end of Q4 2022, accounting for 70.5% of all lines.
  • The number of ADSL lines fell by 117k (4.0%) during the quarter, while the number of cable lines increased by 28k (0.5%) and the number of ‘other inc. FTTx’ lines increased by 175k (0.9%).

Mobile services

  • Mobile telephony services generated £3.3bn in retail revenues in Q4 2022, a £161.1m (5.2%) increase from a year previously.
  • Average monthly retail revenue per subscriber was £12.48 in Q4 2022, with post-pay subscribers generating more revenue than pre-pay users (averaging £15.01 compared to £5.28 for pre-pay).
  • The number of active mobile subscriptions (excluding M2M) was 86.8 million at the end of Q4 2022, up 1.8 million (2.2%) from the year before.
  • Over the same period, the number of dedicated mobile broadband subscriptions grew by 39k (0.7%) to 5.3 million.
  • The number of mobile-originated voice call minutes decreased by 4.5 billion (9.6%) to 42.0 billion minutes year-on-year, with calls to landlines decreasing by 13.5% to 8.5 billion minutes.
  • The number of mobile messages (including SMS and MMS) saw a year-on-year decline, down 1.7 billion messages (16.2%) to 8.8 billion.

Telecommunications data revenues, volumes and market share update Q4 2022 (PDF, 355.3 KB)

Telecommunications data revenues, volumes and market share update Q4 2022 (CSV, 132.6 KB)

In the following section we highlight some of the key trends emerging this quarter from the data we collect on the UK telecommunications sector.

Fixed voice services

  • UK fixed voice service revenues totalled £1.42bn in Q3 2022; a decrease of £21m (1.5%) from the previous quarter and £97m (6.4%) year-on-year. BT’s share of these revenues was 48.9%.
  • The number of fixed exchange lines (including PSTN, ISDN and managed VoIP connections) fell by 492k (1.6%) during the quarter to 30.5 million. This decline is due to the growing availability and take-up of standalone broadband services.
  • Total fixed-originated call volumes decreased by 138 million minutes (1.7%) during the quarter, to 7.8 billion minutes.

Fixed broadband services

  • There were 27.8 million fixed broadband lines at the end of Q3 2022, an increase of 91k (0.3%)year-on-year.
  • There were 19.4 million ‘other inc. FTTx’ broadband connections (predominantly fibre-to-the cabinet and full fibre connections) at the end of Q3 2022, accounting for 69.9% of all lines.
  • The number of ADSL lines fell by 209k (6.6%) during the quarter, while the number of cable lines increased by 13k (0.2%) and the number of ‘other inc. FTTx’ lines increased by 154k (0.8%).

Mobile services

  • Mobile telephony services generated £3.32bn in retail revenues in Q3 2022, a £231m (7.5%) increase from a year previously.
  • Average monthly retail revenue per subscriber was £12.74 in Q3 2022, with post-pay subscribers generating more revenue than pre-pay users (averaging £15.41 compared to £5.22 for pre-pay).
  • The number of active mobile subscriptions (excluding M2M) was 87.5 million at the end of Q3 2022, up 3.0 million (3.5%) from the year before.
  • Over the same period, the number of dedicated mobile broadband subscriptions increased by 0.1 million (1.2%) to 5.3 million.
  • The number of mobile messages (including SMS and MMS) saw a year-on-year decline, down 1.5 billion messages (14.3%) to 9.1 billion.
  • The number of mobile-originated voice call minutes decreased by 4.3 billion (9.4%) to 41.1 billion minutes year-on-year, with calls to landlines decreasing by 12.6% to 8.5 billion minutes.

Telecommunications data revenues, volumes and market share update Q3 2022 (PDF, 356.7 KB)

Telecommunications data revenues, volumes and market share update Q3 2022 (CSV, 127.7 KB)

In the following section we highlight some of the key trends emerging this quarter from the data we collect on the UK telecommunications sector.

Fixed voice services

  • UK fixed voice service revenues totaled £1.44bn in Q2 2022; a decrease of £11m (0.8%) from the previous quarter and £106m (6.9%) year-on-year. BT’s share of these revenues was 48.9%.
  • The number of fixed exchange lines (including PSTN, ISDN and managed VoIP connections) fell by 412k (1.3%) during the quarter to 31.0 million.
  • Total fixed-originated call volumes decreased by 833 million minutes (9.5%) during the quarter, to 7.9 billion minutes.

Fixed broadband services

  • There were 27.8 million fixed broadband lines at the end of Q2 2022, an increase 228k (0.8%) year-on-year.
  • There were 19.3 million ‘other inc. FTTx’ broadband connections (predominantly fibre-to-the-cabinet and full fibre connections) at the end of Q2 2022, accounting for 69.2% of all lines.
  • The number of ADSL lines fell by 204k (6.1%) during the quarter, while the number of cable lines increased by 16k (0.6%) and the number of ‘other inc. FTTx’ lines increased by 180k (0.9%).

Mobile services

  • Mobile telephony services generated £3.25bn in retail revenues in Q2 2022, a £191m (6.3%) increase from a year previously.
  • Average monthly retail revenue per subscriber was £12.65 in Q2 2022, with post-pay subscribers generating more revenue than pre-pay users (averaging £15.23 compared to £5.26 for pre-pay).
  • The number of active mobile subscriptions (excluding M2M) was 86.1 million at the end of Q2 2022, up 2.2 million (2.6%) from the year before.
  • Over the same period, the number of dedicated mobile broadband subscriptions increased by 0.1 million (2.1%) to 5.2 million.
  • The number of mobile messages (including SMS and MMS) saw a year-on-year decline, down 1.0 billion messages (10.3%) to 9.1 billion.
  • The number of mobile-originated voice call minutes decreased by 4.0 billion (8.6%) to 42.3 billion minutes year-on-year, with calls to landlines decreasing by 11.7% to 8.7 billion minutes.

Telecommunications data revenues, volumes and market share update Q2 2022 (PDF, 378.7 KB)

Telecommunications data revenues, volumes and market share update Q2 2022 (CSV, 126.2 KB)

In the following section we highlight some of the key trends emerging this quarter from the data we collect on the UK telecommunications sector.

Fixed voice services

  • UK fixed voice service revenues totaled £1.43bn in Q1 2022; a decrease of £44m (3%) from the previous quarter and £182m (11.3%) year-on-year. BT’s share of these revenues was 49.4%.
  • The total number of fixed lines (including PSTN lines, ISDN channels and managed VoIP connections) grew by 103k (0.3%) during the quarter to 32.7 million.
  • UK landlines (including managed VoIP connections) generated 8.8 billion minutes of outgoing calls in Q1 2022, down 301 million minutes (3.3%) from Q4 and 2.9 billion minutes (24.7%) compared to Q1 2021.
  • Access and add-on call bundle revenues accounted for 89.7% of total fixed voice revenues in Q1 2022, a 1.5 percentage point increase from the same period a year ago.

Fixed broadband services

  • There were 27.7 million fixed broadband lines at the end of Q1 2022, an increase of 296k (1.1%) from Q1 2021.
  • The number of ADSL lines fell by 377k (10.1%), while the number of  ‘Other inc. FTTx’ lines increased by 348k (1.9%) during the quarter.

Mobile services

  • Mobile telephony services generated £3.0bn in retail revenues in Q1 2022, a £3m (0.1%) increase from a year previously.
  • Average monthly retail revenue per subscriber was £11.94 in Q1 2022, with post-pay subscribers generating more revenue than pre-pay users (averaging £14.36 compared to £4.87 for pre-pay).
  • The number of active mobile subscriptions (excluding M2M) was 85.3 million at the end of Q1 2022, up 1.9 million (2.3%) from the year before.
  • Over the same period, the number of dedicated mobile broadband subscriptions increased by 0.3 million (5.6%) to 5.0 million.
  • The number of mobile-originated voice call minutes decreased by 1.5 billion (3.2%) to 46.9 billion minutes year-on-year, with calls to landlines decreasing by 10.6% to 9.4 billion minutes.
  • The number of mobile messages (including SMS and MMS) saw a year-on-year decline, down 0.1 billion messages (1.3%) to 9.5 billion.
  • Data usage continued to rise rapidly, with volumes up 311 PB (24.3%) year-on-year to 1,592 PB.

Telecommunications data revenues, volumes and market share update Q1 2022 (PDF, 385.3 KB)

Telecommunications data revenues, volumes and market share update Q1 2022 (CSV, 172.2 KB)

In the following section we highlight some of the key trends emerging this quarter from the data we collect on the UK telecommunications sector.

Fixed voice services

  • UK fixed voice service revenues totaled £1.5bn in Q4 2021; a decrease of £42m (2.8%) from the previous quarter and £230m (13.5%) year-on-year. BT’s share of these revenues was 49.6%.
  • Access and add-on call bundle revenues accounted for 89.2% of total fixed voice revenues in Q4 2021, a 1.6 percentage point increase from the same period a year ago.
  • The number of fixed exchange lines (including PSTN, ISDN and managed VoIP connections) fell by 538k (1.6%) during the year to 32.1 million at the end of 2021.
  • Fixed-originated call volumes fell by just under 3 billion million minutes (24.7%) from Q4 2020, largely due to the increase in call volumes during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic. Total call volumes for the year were 14% (6.4 billion minutes) lower than in 2020, at 40.3 billion minutes.

Fixed broadband services

  • There were 27.7 million fixed broadband lines at the end of Q4 2021, an increase of 105k (0.4%) from the previous quarter and 387k (1.4%) from Q4 2020.
  • The number of ADSL lines fell by 266k (6.6%) during the quarter, while the number of cable broadband lines decreased by 26k (0.5%) and the number of ‘Other inc. FTTx’ lines
    (predominantly fibre broadband connections) increased by 397k (2.2%).
  • There were 18.6 million ‘Other inc. FTTx’ broadband lines at the end of Q4 2021, accounting for 67.2% of all UK fixed broadband connections.

Mobile services

  • Mobile telephony services generated £3.1bn in retail revenues in Q4 2021, a £13m (0.4%) increase from a year previously.
  • Average monthly retail revenue per subscriber was £12.29 in Q4 2021, with post-pay subscribers generating more revenue than pre-pay users (averaging £14.75 compared to £5.22 for pre-pay).
  • The number of active mobile subscriptions (excluding M2M) was 85.0 million at the end of Q4 2021, up 1.2 million (1.4%) from the year before.
  • Over the same period, the number of dedicated mobile broadband subscriptions increased by 0.4 million (9.2%) to 5.2 million.
  • The number of mobile-originated voice call minutes decreased by 1.8 billion (3.8%) to 46.5 billion minutes year-on-year, with calls to landlines decreasing by 6.8% to 9.9 billion minutes.
  • The number of mobile messages (including SMS and MMS) saw a year-on-year decline, down 0.7 billion messages (6.2%) to 10.5 billion.
  • Data usage continued to rise rapidly, with volumes up 318 PB (25.9%) year-on-year to 1,547 PB.

Telecommunications data revenues, volumes and market share update Q4 2021 (PDF, 1.2 MB)

Telecommunications data revenues, volumes and market share update Q4 2021 (CSV, 173.2 KB)

In the following section we highlight some of the key trends emerging this quarter from the data we collect on the UK telecommunications sector.

Fixed voice services

  • UK fixed voice services generated £1.51bn in revenue in Q3 2021, a fall of £32m (2.1%) compared to the previous quarter and down £220m (12.7%) year-on-year.
  • BT’s share of these revenues was 49.3%, up 0.9 percentage points compared to Q3 2020.
  • Access and add-on call bundle revenues accounted for 89% of fixed voice revenues in Q3 2021.
  • The number of UK fixed voice lines (including PSTN lines, ISDN channels and managed VoIP connections) totalled 32.6 million at the end of Q3 2021.
  • UK landlines (including managed VoIP connections) generated 9.4 billion minutes of outgoing calls in Q3 2021, down 854 million minutes (8.4%) from Q2 and 2.0 billion minutes (19.4%) compared to Q3 2020.

Fixed broadband services

  • There were 27.6 million fixed broadband lines at the end of Q3 2021, an increase of 92k (0.3%) from the previous quarter and 415k (1.5%) year-on-year.
  • This growth was driven by ‘other inc. FTTx’ lines’ (predominantly fibre broadband connections), which increased by 415k (2.3%) during the quarter.
  • At the end of the quarter there were 18.2 million ‘other inc. FTTx’ lines, accounting for just under two thirds (66.0%) of all connections.
  • The number of cable broadband lines also increased, up by 46k (0.9%), while the number of ADSL lines fell by 369k (8.4%) from Q2 2021.

Mobile services

  • Mobile telephony services generated £3.09bn in retail revenues in Q3 2021, an £18m (0.6%) decrease from a year previously.
  • Average monthly retail revenue per subscriber was £12.22 in Q3 2021, with post-pay subscribers generating more revenue than pre-pay users (averaging £14.66 compared to £5.23 for pre-pay).
  • The number of active mobile subscriptions (excluding M2M) was 84.5 million at the end of Q3 2021, up 0.6 million (0.7%) from the year before.
  • Over the same period, the number of dedicated mobile broadband subscriptions increased by 0.4 million (8.2%) to 5.2 million.
  • The number of mobile-originated voice call minutes decreased by 1.6 billion (3.3%) to 45.3 billion minutes year-on-year, with calls to landlines decreasing by 6.5% to 9.7 billion minutes.
  • The number of mobile messages (including SMS and MMS) saw a year-on-year decline, down 1.3 billion messages (10.8%) to 10.6 billion.
  • Data usage continued to rise rapidly, with volumes up 332 PB (28.8%) year-on-year to 1,487 PB.

The data for ‘Other (inc. FTTx)’ fixed broadband lines in Table 16: Summary of residential and small business broadband connections at end of quarter (000's) has been restated. This is to resolve an error which resulted in the double-counting of some fibre-to-the-cabinet lines and meant that the Total and ‘Other (inc. FTTx)’ broadband connections were overstated by c.230k (0.8% and 1.2% respectively). This has been corrected in the attached report, which shows the total number of residential and small business broadband connections to be 27.635 million at the end of Q3 2021.

Telecommunications data revenues, volumes and market share update Q3 2021 (PDF, 380.1 KB)

Telecommunications data revenues, volumes and market share update Q3 2021 (CSV, 123.1 KB)

Visit the National archives for older reports.

Back to top