Full-Fibre Take-Up vs Availability in the UK
Rollout headlines quote how many premises can access full-fibre; take-up measures how many households have actually switched. Ofcom Connected Nations Spring 2026 publishes both columns for every local authority. This guide explains the difference, shows where the UK adoption gap sits today, and how to read take-up on PlainBroadband profiles.
In numbers
Across 361 UK local authorities, premises-weighted full-fibre availability stands at 81.0% while take-up is 38.2% - an adoption gap of 42.8pp on the all-premises denominator Ofcom uses in Connected Nations.
Availability measures supply; take-up measures demand
Full-fibre availability (full_fibre_pct) is the share of premises where
a fibre-to-the-premises network is reported as passable, a technician could connect the address without
a major civil build. Full-fibre take-up (full_fibre_takeup_all_pct) is the
share of all premises in the authority that are active full-fibre subscribers, whether or not
every address could yet order FTTP.
The gap between the two is normal early in a rollout: networks are built before every household switches.
A high-availability, low-take-up authority usually means infrastructure is in place but many residents
remain on cable, part-fibre, or older copper products. PlainBroadband also surfaces
full_fibre_takeup_cov_pct on authority pages, take-up among premises that already have
full-fibre available, which answers a narrower conversion question.
How Ofcom publishes take-up in Connected Nations
Ofcom added full-fibre take-up to the Spring 2026 Connected Nations extract (January 2026 snapshot). Operator returns count active FTTP lines; PlainBroadband ingests the local-authority percentages without adjustment. Rankings and entity profiles sort on the same columns, see our Connected Nations guide for the wider methodology and vintage cadence.
Take-up is not a speed test or satisfaction score. It does not tell you whether subscribers are on the fastest tier available, only that they have ordered a qualifying full-fibre product at the address. For technology definitions see what is full-fibre broadband and full-fibre vs gigabit-capable explained.
UK adoption gap at a glance
Weighted across all authorities in the extract, 81.0% of premises have full-fibre available while 38.2% have subscribed, leaving 42.8pp of premises on the all-premises denominator that could theoretically convert as contracts end and awareness grows. 37 authorities with at least 10,000 premises already exceed 70% availability but remain below 30% take-up, the pattern policymakers call the “adoption gap”.
Take-up and availability by nation
Nation rows in Connected Nations aggregate constituent local authorities. Northern Ireland often leads on both availability and take-up in this extract because full-fibre build started earlier and competitive switching is more mature; England’s larger denominator dilutes the national average even where individual cities show strong conversion.
| Nation | Full-fibre avail. % | Take-up % | Gap (pp) |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 81.3% | 37.6% | 43.7pp |
| Scotland | 74.0% | 35.3% | 38.7pp |
| Wales | 80.8% | 43.1% | 37.7pp |
| Northern Ireland | 94.0% | 59.3% | 34.7pp |
Stacked share of premises: active full-fibre subscribers versus availability not yet converted
Authorities with the largest adoption gaps
The table lists authorities with at least 10,000 premises where availability minus take-up is widest in this extract. These are not necessarily the worst-connected areas, many already exceed 70% full-fibre availability, but they illustrate where network build has outpaced household switching.
| Local authority | Availability % | Take-up % | Gap (pp) |
|---|---|---|---|
| SOUTHEND-ON-SEA | 97.6% | 16.0% | 81.6pp |
| DUDLEY | 89.7% | 22.0% | 67.7pp |
| ST. HELENS | 94.5% | 27.0% | 67.5pp |
| WEST NORTHAMPTONSHIRE | 93.5% | 27.0% | 66.5pp |
| BLACKPOOL | 83.9% | 19.0% | 64.9pp |
| CAMDEN | 86.9% | 22.0% | 64.9pp |
| TAMWORTH | 88.5% | 24.0% | 64.5pp |
| ISLINGTON | 84.4% | 20.0% | 64.4pp |
Authorities with the highest take-up
High take-up usually correlates with longer network tenure, competitive altnet presence, or markets where legacy cable was weak. Use these leaders as benchmarks when comparing an authority’s conversion rate to its availability rank on the rankings page.
| Local authority | Take-up % | Availability % | Nation |
|---|---|---|---|
| KINGSTON UPON HULL, CITY OF | 78.0% | 99.6% | England |
| ARDS AND NORTH DOWN | 72.0% | 95.7% | Northern Ireland |
| MID AND EAST ANTRIM | 71.0% | 95.2% | Northern Ireland |
| MILTON KEYNES | 69.0% | 96.4% | England |
| ARMAGH CITY, BANBRIDGE AND CRAIGAVON | 68.0% | 92.9% | Northern Ireland |
| NEWRY, MOURNE AND DOWN | 68.0% | 95.1% | Northern Ireland |
| CAUSEWAY COAST AND GLENS | 66.0% | 93.6% | Northern Ireland |
| MIDLOTHIAN | 66.0% | 92.5% | Scotland |
Why take-up lags availability
Several structural factors keep take-up below availability even after a network is declared open:
- Contract inertia: households wait for existing broadband contracts to end before switching.
- Competing cable: areas with strong DOCSIS gigabit may see slower FTTP conversion.
- Build recency: altnet overbuilds often show low take-up for 12–24 months after launch.
- Awareness: premises passed may not know FTTP is orderable without operator marketing.
For a deeper local-authority analysis with additional charts, see our full-fibre take-up vs availability research. To check figures for your area, open any local authority profile or use the coverage comparison tools.
Frequently asked questions
Does high availability mean everyone has full-fibre?
No. Availability is a network footprint measure. A premise can be counted as covered even if the household has never ordered FTTP. Take-up closes that loop by counting active subscriptions.
Can take-up exceed availability?
On the all-premises denominator, take-up should not exceed availability by more than a small rounding margin. If it does in a single row, treat it as a data vintage mismatch and check the methodology page for release notes.
Is take-up the same as penetration among covered premises?
Not exactly. full_fibre_takeup_all_pct divides subscribers by all premises; coverage-based
penetration uses only premises with FTTP available. PlainBroadband shows both on authority detail pages where
Ofcom supplies the covered-premises column.
What to do with this
Southend-on-Sea has the widest gap between full-fibre availability and take-up in this extract (81.6pp) - a real signal that infrastructure alone doesn't predict adoption.
- See Southend-on-Sea's full availability-vs-take-up profile. Southend-on-Sea profile
- Understand what full-fibre actually means before comparing take-up rates. What is full-fibre broadband guide
- See how full-fibre stacks up against the broader gigabit-capable definition. Full-fibre vs gigabit explained
Availability and take-up percentages are from the Ofcom Connected Nations Spring 2026 extract; a wide gap reflects switching behaviour, not a coverage defect.
Availability and take-up percentages on this guide query the Ofcom Connected Nations Spring 2026 local-authority extract. Editorial explanations summarise Ofcom definitions; no operator product recommendations are made. Nation and authority tables use the same full_fibre_pct and full_fibre_takeup_all_pct columns as entity profiles. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of January 2026.