Just under a quarter of homes (24%) in the UK can be connected to a full fiber network, according to research UK regulatory authority Ofcom released last week. The figure represents a 3% increase from the beginning of the year.
The growth in full-fiber connectivity – as well as upgrades to hybrid fiber/coax networks by cable system operators – also has enabled more UK citizens to opt for gigabit broadband, Ofcom adds. Nearly 12 million UK homes (40%) have access to gigabit broadband versus 37% in January of this year.
Overall improvements in UK access network infrastructure now enable 96% of UK homes to access “superfast” broadband service encompassing download speeds of at least 30 Mbps, the research reveals. And “almost all” households in the UK can access 10 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream, a level of service Ofcom classified as “decent.”
That said, approximately 134,000 UK premises do not have access to even this decent level of service. Such properties “could be” eligible to participate in the broadband universal service, in which they can petition their local infrastructure provider for a higher-speed connection.
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