Full fibre coverage across the UK, nation by nation
The four nations
| Nation | Full fibre | Gigabit | Superfast | Homes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | 81.8% | 88.9% | 98.1% | 30,455,777 |
| England | 82% | 89.5% | 98.2% | 25,406,007 |
| Scotland | 74.9% | 83.5% | 97.2% | 2,754,019 |
| Wales | 82.5% | 84.9% | 97.1% | 1,464,799 |
| Northern Ireland | 95.5% | 96.3% | 98.9% | 830,952 |
Residential premises. Superfast means 30Mbps or more; gigabit means a network that can deliver 1,000Mbps or more.
How many councils sit in each band
Number of councils by the share of homes that can get full fibre. Every council is counted, however small.
| Full fibre coverage | UK | England | Scotland | Wales | Northern Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 90% or more | 82 | 64 | 4 | 3 | 11 |
| 70% to 89.9% | 212 | 181 | 15 | 16 | 0 |
| 50% to 69.9% | 59 | 49 | 7 | 3 | 0 |
| Under 50% | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Councils in total | 361 | 296 | 32 | 22 | 11 |
Ten councils with the most and least full fibre
Councils with at least 5,000 premises (this leaves out Isles of Scilly). Each name links to the council page and its towns.
Most full fibre
| Council | Nation | Full fibre |
|---|---|---|
| Kingston upon Hull | England | 99.8% |
| Antrim and Newtownabbey | Northern Ireland | 98.2% |
| Cannock Chase | England | 97.7% |
| Southend-on-Sea | England | 97.7% |
| Bracknell Forest | England | 96.9% |
| Ards and North Down | Northern Ireland | 96.8% |
| Coventry | England | 96.8% |
| Lisburn and Castlereagh | Northern Ireland | 96.8% |
| Milton Keynes | England | 96.8% |
| Mid and East Antrim | Northern Ireland | 96.7% |
Least full fibre
| Council | Nation | Full fibre |
|---|---|---|
| Na h-Eileanan Siar | Scotland | 11.3% |
| Shetland Islands | Scotland | 20.6% |
| Argyll and Bute | Scotland | 24.5% |
| Orkney Islands | Scotland | 30.7% |
| Perth and Kinross | Scotland | 37.9% |
| Harlow | England | 43.2% |
| Aberdeenshire | Scotland | 49.1% |
| Redditch | England | 49.8% |
| West Dunbartonshire | Scotland | 55.6% |
| North Norfolk | England | 56% |
Where gigabit relies on cable, not full fibre
Ofcom counts any network that can deliver 1,000Mbps as gigabit-capable, including upgraded cable. These ten councils have the biggest gap between the share of homes that can get gigabit and the share that can get full fibre. Much of that gigabit coverage is not fibre to the home.
| Council | Nation | Full fibre | Gigabit | Gap (points) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harlow | England | 43.2% | 94.8% | 51.6 |
| Redditch | England | 49.8% | 93.7% | 43.9 |
| West Dunbartonshire | Scotland | 55.6% | 94.4% | 38.8 |
| Stevenage | England | 58.2% | 95.6% | 37.4 |
| Stockton-on-Tees | England | 61.2% | 95.1% | 33.9 |
| Middlesbrough | England | 63.7% | 97.5% | 33.8 |
| Enfield | England | 58.7% | 92% | 33.3 |
| Redcar and Cleveland | England | 60.8% | 92% | 31.2 |
| Telford and Wrekin | England | 58.7% | 89.7% | 31.0 |
| Welwyn Hatfield | England | 61% | 89.8% | 28.8 |
For what the terms mean, see full fibre, part fibre, cable and gigabit explained.
Download the data
Every council in one file: full fibre, gigabit and superfast coverage, rank in the UK and in its nation. Free to reuse with credit.
Related: the full league table, slowest areas, the rural and urban gap, best and worst connected towns.
Cite this page
You are welcome to quote the figures and reuse the tables. Please credit BroadbandMart and link to this page.
BroadbandMart (2026), Full fibre coverage across the UK, nation by nation. Based on Ofcom Connected Nations data. https://www.broadbandmart.co.uk/data/full-fibre-coverage
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Questions about this data
- What share of UK homes can get full fibre?
- 81.8% of UK homes could order a full fibre connection in Ofcom's January 2026 data, published on 13 May 2026.
- Which UK nation has the most full fibre coverage?
- Northern Ireland, where 95.5% of homes can get full fibre. Scotland is lowest of the four nations at 74.9%.
- Which council has the least full fibre?
- Na h-Eileanan Siar, where 11.3% of homes can get it (councils with at least 5,000 premises).
- What is the difference between full fibre and gigabit-capable?
- Full fibre means fibre optic cable all the way into the home. Gigabit-capable also counts networks that can deliver 1,000Mbps or more over other technology, mainly Virgin Media's upgraded cable network. A council can therefore have much higher gigabit coverage than full fibre coverage.
- Can I reuse this data?
- Yes. The underlying Ofcom data is under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Please credit BroadbandMart and link to this page. A CSV of every council is linked below.
Sources
- Ofcom, Connected Nations update: Spring 2026 (January 2026 data)
- Ofcom, Connected Nations fixed broadband coverage and full fibre take-up data files
- Ordnance Survey, OS Open Names (places and postcodes in Great Britain)
- Open Government Licence v3.0
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right. Contains Ofcom data.
Last updated 29 October 2026.
Figures are for residential premises, from Ofcom's January 2026 data (published 13 May 2026), the date networks were measured, not today. See our methodology. Page reviewed 29 October 2026.