Following a report from INCA and Point Topic that altnets have now passed more premises in aggregate than Openreach, Neos CEO Lee Myall states that consolidation is the next natural step.
Mon, 5/02/2024 - 16:04
Full fibre is now available to over 6 in 10 UK households according to the third annual State of Broadband Report by thinkbroadband.
It estimates that 85% coverage will be achieved in September 2025, a delay to last year’s prediction, and that 95% coverage will be achieved by May 2026.
Across UK nations, the report shows that Northern Ireland’s coverage remains ahead at 94.1%, with England second at 60.2%, Wales third at 59.2% and Scotland lagging with 54.8%.
The progress in Northern Ireland is largely driven by Project Stratum, therefore, despite its impressive coverage numbers, only 29.4% of premises are addressed by an altnet.
This is higher in England where 31.8% of premises can take fibre services from an altnet. Scotland comes third by this metric at 25.3%.
Only 10.7% of premises in Wales can access fibre services from an altnet, according to thinkbroadband.
So far 16 authorities have over 90% coverage with City of Kingston upon Hull leading the race.
