User login

Courtesy navigation

News

November 08, 2013

UK access to superfast broadband improving

UK access to superfast broadband improvingSuperfast broadband is now available to almost three quarters of UK homes, and the number of people using the technology has more than doubled in the past year, according to Ofcom.

Ofcom's annual Infrastructure Report finds that in June this year 73% of UK premises could receive superfast broadband, up from 65% in 2012. In addition, 22% of broadband connections are now superfast, up from 10% last year. And 4.8m UK customers have taken up the technology, up from 2.1m last year.

In total, 650m gigabytes of data were sent or received by UK internet users over fixed lines in the single month of June 2013 and the growth in data usage is set to continue.

The Ofcom report shows that consumers are also making far greater use of Wi-Fi hotspots – the number of public Wi-Fi hotspots in the UK doubled over the year to 34,000. And the amount of data being sent or received by consumers in these hotspots almost trebled.

For the first time, Ofcom has also analysed mobile coverage on the roads. It estimates that just 35% of the length of the UK's A and B roads are served by all four 3G networks, and 9% has no 3G coverage at all.

This shortfall should be addressed by the roll-out of 4G services, but Ofcom plans further research to examine whether regulatory or Government intervention will be required. Ofcom will also examine mobile coverage on major rail routes over the coming year.

Ed Richards, Ofcom chief executive, said: "Superfast broadband is rolling out fast across the country, and 4G mobile will reach at least 98% of the population. We know consumers increasingly expect superfast speeds, but it's also important to make sure people can connect over a very wide area. That is why we are doing everything we can to support moves to improve coverage in difficult areas such as roads and train lines."

Ofcom has also updated its communications coverage maps that show the availability of fixed broadband, digital radio, digital TV and mobile services across the UK.

Related resources: