Scotland Broadband Coverage
Data across 32 local authorities · 2,925,198 premises
Scotland full-fibre coverage is 70.0% , below the UK national average of 77.5% . The nation ranks below average among the four UK nations.
The verdict
Scotland ranks 4th of the four UK nations for full-fibre at 70.0% — 7.5pp below the 77.5% UK average, spanning 91.8% in Aberdeen City down to 10.3% in Na h-Eileanan Siar.
Broadband Coverage in Scotland
Scotland covers 32 local authority areas with a combined 2,925,198 premises, of which 70.0% can access a full-fibre (FTTP) connection and 79.6% have access to gigabit-capable broadband. The gap between full-fibre and gigabit figures reflects additional premises served by upgraded cable (DOCSIS 3.1) networks, principally in urban areas where Virgin Media O2's HFC infrastructure has been upgraded to support gigabit speeds without laying new fibre-to-the-premises.
Within Scotland, coverage varies considerably at local authority level. Aberdeen City leads with 91.8% full-fibre coverage, while Na h-Eileanan Siar has the lowest proportion at 10.3% — a gap of 81.5 percentage points. No local authorities have more than 5% of premises below the Universal Service Obligation threshold, indicating a relatively even baseline of connectivity across the nation.
Superfast broadband (≥30 Mbit/s) reaches 96.4% of premises, while ultrafast (≥300 Mbit/s) is available to 80.0%. Full-fibre take-up — the proportion of premises that have subscribed to an FTTP service where one is available — stands at 30.0%, reflecting both consumer demand and the competitive broadband market. All figures are from Ofcom's Connected Nations 2025 report, published in July 2025 under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Top 10 Local Authorities by Full-fibre Coverage
Top local authorities in Scotland by full-fibre (FTTP) coverage
Distribution of Scotland Authorities
Where Scotland's authorities cluster
Each bar is the number of Scotland local authorities in that full-fibre band. The highlighted bar holds the national average (70.0%).
70.0% 4th of 4 Scotland average vs the other UK nations
32 Scotland local authorities, bucketed by full-fibre coverage
Source: Ofcom Connected Nations 2025 (July 2025, r01)
Local Authorities in Scotland
32 areas · sorted by full-fibre| Local Authority | Full-fibre | Gigabit | Superfast | Below USO | Premises |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen City | 91.8% | 91.8% | 98.3% | 0.0% | 131,931 |
| Glasgow City | 91.5% | 94.6% | 98.5% | 0.0% | 346,422 |
| Renfrewshire | 90.7% | 95.7% | 99.2% | 0.0% | 98,724 |
| Midlothian | 90.6% | 90.6% | 98.9% | 0.1% | 46,045 |
| East Renfrewshire | 87.8% | 94.6% | 98.5% | 0.1% | 42,792 |
| East Lothian | 86.3% | 86.3% | 96.0% | 0.2% | 56,951 |
| Clackmannanshire | 85.3% | 85.3% | 98.7% | 0.1% | 26,762 |
| Dundee City | 84.4% | 93.9% | 99.1% | 0.0% | 81,486 |
| City of Edinburgh | 83.0% | 92.2% | 98.3% | 0.0% | 289,109 |
| West Lothian | 75.8% | 90.4% | 98.5% | 0.1% | 91,071 |
| East Ayrshire | 75.3% | 78.0% | 98.5% | 0.1% | 62,958 |
| East Dunbartonshire | 75.1% | 91.7% | 98.1% | 0.0% | 50,853 |
| Stirling | 74.4% | 74.4% | 96.2% | 0.5% | 47,615 |
| North Ayrshire | 72.1% | 79.0% | 98.0% | 0.1% | 74,156 |
| Scottish Borders | 68.3% | 68.3% | 97.4% | 0.4% | 66,143 |
| South Ayrshire | 67.9% | 79.9% | 98.5% | 0.1% | 60,782 |
| Fife | 67.8% | 80.9% | 98.4% | 0.1% | 196,763 |
| Falkirk | 65.3% | 93.3% | 98.6% | 0.1% | 77,810 |
| North Lanarkshire | 63.8% | 91.7% | 98.5% | 0.1% | 169,579 |
| South Lanarkshire | 62.6% | 88.1% | 98.7% | 0.0% | 167,549 |
| Highland | 60.2% | 60.2% | 85.1% | 1.6% | 136,487 |
| Moray | 59.7% | 59.7% | 92.2% | 1.3% | 51,441 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 51.8% | 51.8% | 96.4% | 0.4% | 83,583 |
| Angus | 50.2% | 58.6% | 90.3% | 1.1% | 62,388 |
| Inverclyde | 48.9% | 78.6% | 98.1% | 0.0% | 42,536 |
| West Dunbartonshire | 43.5% | 90.8% | 99.2% | 0.1% | 48,347 |
| Aberdeenshire | 43.4% | 43.4% | 89.9% | 1.6% | 130,643 |
| Perth and Kinross | 32.8% | 51.4% | 91.4% | 0.9% | 81,905 |
| Orkney Islands | 24.9% | 24.9% | 83.6% | 2.6% | 13,309 |
| Argyll and Bute | 21.1% | 21.1% | 87.5% | 2.2% | 57,993 |
| Shetland Islands | 17.2% | 17.2% | 84.7% | 2.1% | 13,343 |
| Na h-Eileanan Siar | 10.3% | 10.3% | 79.9% | 2.8% | 17,722 |
Related
Source: Ofcom Connected Nations 2025, July 2025 release (r01). Published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Figures represent premises-level coverage, not actual subscriptions or speeds experienced by customers.