Openreach has announced its fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) network now passes 20 million homes and businesses across the UK. The figure marks a major step toward its 2026 target, but independent checks by Thinkbroadband show the orderable total is a little lower, closer to 19.2 million.
This is common in fast-moving builds where claims and “ready for service” counts don’t always align in real time.
At the same time, Thinkbroadband’s State of Broadband Report (September 2025) (full details here) has refreshed the league table of the UK’s largest full fibre networks. The dataset focuses on addresses that can actually book an installation, giving a neutral comparison against official coverage announcements. Together, the updates show how far the UK has come on full fibre, and how much more is still to do.
Where nationwide coverage stands
According to Thinkbroadband’s September update, full fibre is now available to around 80% of UK premises. Gigabit-capable broadband, which includes both FTTP and cable, reaches nearly 89%. Northern Ireland is ahead of the curve, with coverage close to universal. England and Wales track near the national average, while Scotland still has some catching up to do.
These figures underline how quickly the UK has moved since 2019, when full fibre was in single digits. The next stage is not only about build, but also about adoption, upgrades inside homes, and switching off legacy copper.
Openreach’s 20m milestone and the path to 2026
Openreach’s footprint has grown by nearly two million premises since the spring. The company says it remains on course to pass 25 million by December 2026 and has an ambition to stretch to 30 million by 2030, provided regulation and investment conditions allow.
Thinkbroadband’s mapping puts Openreach’s “ready for service” lines at about 19.2 million. The gap reflects the lag between when an operator declares a build complete and when addresses appear in databases as orderable. On the customer side, upgrades are not automatic. You need to order a fibre plan from your provider to move off copper.
Openreach’s fastest wholesale tier today sits in the 1.8Gbps range. In early 2026, trials of XGS-PON will push downstream speeds up to 8.5Gbps. To benefit, households will need routers and home networks that can handle multi-gigabit traffic, such as 2.5GbE ports and Wi-Fi 7 equipment.
The H2 2025 leaderboard by Thinkbroadband
Thinkbroadband’s September report ranks the largest FTTP networks by addresses that are genuinely ready to order.
- Openreach: 19.2m RFS (Ready For Service) vs 20m official claim
- CityFibre: 4.3m RFS, matching its June 2025 update
- Netomnia/YouFibre + Brsk: 2.6m RFS vs 2.8m official
- Nexfibre (Virgin Media JV): 1.8m RFS vs 2.3m claim
- Virgin Media RFoG: 1.7m RFS, tracked separately from its cable-to-XGS upgrade
- Community Fibre: 1.5m RFS, aligned with official figures
- Hyperoptic: 1.3m RFS vs 1.9m claim
- Gigaclear: 624,000 RFS vs 600,000 claim
- FullFibre + Zzoomm: 602,000 RFS
- Trooli: 444,000 RFS
- Fibrus: 426,000 RFS
- AllPoints: 299,000 RFS
- F&W Networks: 294,000 RFS vs 410,000 claim
- KCOM: 288,000 RFS vs 305,000 claim
- Toob: 257,000 RFS vs 150,000 historic claim
- G.Network: 255,000 RFS vs 361,000 claim
- Grain: 244,000 RFS vs 270,000 claim
The list shows the dominance of Openreach, the scale of CityFibre, and the growing middle tier of regional altnets. It also highlights where official claims and neutral counts diverge, particularly for Hyperoptic, G.Network, and F&W.
Why figures don’t always match
Thinkbroadband explains that its independent mapping can run two or three months behind operator announcements, especially when large batches of addresses are activated. In multi-dwelling buildings, final wayleaves or cabling may delay true orderability. On the other side, operators sometimes include premises in their totals that are technically built but not yet bookable with an ISP.
For these reasons, differences between official claims and independent counts are normal. A gap doesn’t necessarily mean a provider is overstating.
Virgin Media, nexfibre and the XGS-PON upgrade
Virgin Media’s network appears twice in Thinkbroadband’s table because of technology splits. Its RFoG build is counted separately from nexfibre, the joint venture with Liberty Global, Telefónica, and InfraVia. Nexfibre builds are wholesale-only and sold through Virgin Media and giffgaff.
Virgin Media is also in the middle of a multi-year upgrade of its cable footprint to XGS-PON full fibre. This upgrade is hard to track in independent mapping, so much of it does not yet show in “ready to order” counts. That explains why official FTTP figures are higher than Thinkbroadband’s verified totals.
Take-up is climbing
On the Openreach footprint, full-fibre adoption is approaching 38% of lines. That level is in line with national averages and continues to rise as copper switch-off accelerates. The main barriers are contract cycles, price gaps between fibre and legacy services, and the need for an installation. In overlap areas where Openreach competes with altnets, sharper pricing and big-brand presence tend to boost take-up more quickly.
The regulatory backdrop for 2026–2031
Ofcom is consulting on rules for the period 2026–2031. The regulator’s aim is to keep price controls on older, slower products while leaving higher-speed tiers relatively flexible. The goal is to protect entry-level users while ensuring fibre builders have confidence to invest. Ofcom has signalled a path to around 96% FTTP coverage by 2027, though final decisions are due next year.
This framework recognises the varied costs of rural builds, dense urban apartments, and zones with heavy overlap between multiple networks.
What the next 12–18 months mean for customers
For households and small firms, the odds of being able to order full fibre are rising quarter by quarter. The benefits are lower latency, better uploads, and more reliable speeds at peak times compared to copper. Multi-device homes, gamers, and remote workers will feel the difference most.
Multi-gigabit packages will begin to appear more widely once Openreach and others complete trials. To take advantage, home networks will need capable routers, wired backhaul, and Wi-Fi 6 or 7 equipment.
How to check if you can order
Thinkbroadband’s postcode checker remains a useful tool for seeing if your address is “ready to order.” Pair it with your provider’s own availability checker to confirm. Street-level coverage does not always mean your building is serviceable today, especially in blocks of flats.
The bottom line
The UK’s fibre decade is well underway. Openreach has hit the 20 million milestone. Thinkbroadband’s September report confirms orderable coverage close behind and sets out which other networks are genuinely live. The remaining push will be harder: rural rollouts, complex apartments, and the paperwork that goes with them. But the trajectory is clear — more homes and businesses can order full fibre today than ever before, and faster multi-gigabit services are already on the horizon.
