PlainBroadband

UK Broadband Rankings

Data updated June 2026

These league tables rank all 361 UK local authority districts by their fixed-broadband coverage figures from Ofcom Connected Nations 2025 (July 2025). Coverage is measured as the percentage of premises with access to each technology, not subscriptions or measured speeds. Northern Ireland consistently outperforms other nations on full-fibre owing to Project Stratum, while some rural Scottish and Welsh councils still have significant gaps to close. Click any local authority name to see its full coverage profile.

The bar to make the national top 10

Where the 95.2% top-10 cutoff falls among all 361 UK local authorities, by full-fibre (FTTP) coverage.

95.2% TOP 2.8% only 10 of 361 authorities clear this bar

10–19%: 3 authorities 20–29%: 2 authorities 30–39%: 3 authorities 40–49%: 10 authorities 50–59%: 24 authorities 60–69%: 65 authorities 70–79%: 103 authorities 80–89%: 93 authorities 90–99%: 58 authorities Top-10 cutoff 0% 100%

every UK local authority, bucketed by full-fibre coverage

Source: Ofcom Connected Nations 2025 (July 2025, r01)

The distribution is heavily left-skewed: most authorities cluster between 60% and 90% full-fibre, with a long tail of 18 authorities still below 50% and 58 already at 90% or higher. The national average sits at 77.5%.

The Full-Fibre Leaders

The ten UK local authorities with the highest full-fibre (FTTP) coverage. The bar to make the national top ten is 95.2% - well above the 77.5% UK average. The leaders are separated by fractions of a percentage point, so a single new cabinet or estate build can reorder the top few positions between Ofcom's twice-yearly releases; treat the #1 spot as illustrative, not a fixed ranking.

Kingston upon Hull, City of99.6%Southend-on-Sea97.6%Bracknell Forest96.6%Antrim and Newtownabbey96.3%Coventry96.3%Milton Keynes95.7%Wolverhampton95.6%Ards and North Down95.4%Cannock Chase95.4%Lisburn and Castlereagh95.2%
Top 10 local authorities by full-fibre coverage, Ofcom Connected Nations 2025

Top 20, Full-Fibre Coverage

Local authorities with the highest percentage of premises passed by full-fibre (FTTP) networks. Limited to authorities with at least 10k premises so a single small area can't top the list on a handful of properties; the cohort median is 77.0%.

# Local Authority Nation Full-Fibre %
1 Kingston upon Hull, City of England 99.6%
2 Southend-on-Sea England 97.6%
3 Bracknell Forest England 96.6%
4 Antrim and Newtownabbey Northern Ireland 96.3%
5 Coventry England 96.3%
6 Milton Keynes England 95.7%
7 Wolverhampton England 95.6%
8 Ards and North Down Northern Ireland 95.4%
9 Cannock Chase England 95.4%
10 Lisburn and Castlereagh Northern Ireland 95.2%
11 Oadby and Wigston England 95.0%
12 Ipswich England 94.8%
13 Reading England 94.8%
14 Mid and East Antrim Northern Ireland 94.7%
15 Hartlepool England 94.2%
16 Newry, Mourne and Down Northern Ireland 94.2%
17 Peterborough England 94.2%
18 Leicester England 94.0%
19 Doncaster England 93.6%
20 Mid Ulster Northern Ireland 93.6%

Bottom 20, Full-Fibre Coverage

Local authorities with the lowest full-fibre coverage, often rural areas where the build-out business case is hardest to make without public subsidy. Same 10k-premises floor as the top-20 list; the cohort median is 77.0%.

# Local Authority Nation Full-Fibre %
1 Na h-Eileanan Siar Scotland 10.3%
2 Harlow England 16.4%
3 Shetland Islands Scotland 17.2%
4 Argyll and Bute Scotland 21.1%
5 Orkney Islands Scotland 24.9%
6 South Tyneside England 32.4%
7 Perth and Kinross Scotland 32.8%
8 Oxford England 38.2%
9 Aberdeenshire Scotland 43.4%
10 West Dunbartonshire Scotland 43.5%
11 Warwick England 44.5%
12 Winchester England 44.8%
13 Telford and Wrekin England 45.5%
14 Inverclyde Scotland 48.9%
15 North Norfolk England 49.1%
16 Redditch England 49.2%
17 Enfield England 49.2%
18 Ceredigion Wales 50.0%
19 Angus Scotland 50.2%
20 Dumfries and Galloway Scotland 51.8%

Top 20, Gigabit-Capable Coverage

Gigabit-capable broadband includes full-fibre plus upgraded cable networks. Coverage always equals or exceeds the full-fibre figure for the same area. Limited to authorities with at least 10k premises; the cohort median is 88.0%.

# Local Authority Nation Gigabit %
1 Kingston upon Hull, City of England 99.6%
2 Oadby and Wigston England 98.4%
3 Southend-on-Sea England 98.3%
4 Wolverhampton England 98.1%
5 Luton England 98.0%
6 Gosport England 97.6%
7 Derby England 97.5%
8 Coventry England 97.3%
9 Leicester England 97.3%
10 Worthing England 97.3%
11 Bracknell Forest England 97.1%
12 Dudley England 97.0%
13 Oldham England 97.0%
14 Fareham England 96.8%
15 Antrim and Newtownabbey Northern Ireland 96.7%
16 Nottingham England 96.7%
17 Slough England 96.6%
18 Portsmouth England 96.5%
19 Ipswich England 96.2%
20 Lisburn and Castlereagh Northern Ireland 96.2%

Worst 20, USO Gap (Below 10 Mbit/s)

The Universal Service Obligation entitles eligible premises to request a subsidised connection of at least 10 Mbit/s. These are the local authorities with the largest proportion of premises still below that threshold. Limited to authorities with at least 10k premises; the cohort median is 0.1%.

# Local Authority Nation Below USO %
1 Na h-Eileanan Siar Scotland 2.8%
2 Orkney Islands Scotland 2.6%
3 Argyll and Bute Scotland 2.2%
4 Powys Wales 2.2%
5 Shetland Islands Scotland 2.1%
6 Ceredigion Wales 1.7%
7 Aberdeenshire Scotland 1.6%
8 Highland Scotland 1.6%
9 Torridge England 1.4%
10 West Devon England 1.4%
11 Moray Scotland 1.3%
12 Angus Scotland 1.1%
13 Carmarthenshire Wales 1.1%
14 Mid Devon England 1.1%
15 North Norfolk England 1.0%
16 Breckland England 0.9%
17 Perth and Kinross Scotland 0.9%
18 South Hams England 0.9%
19 Fermanagh and Omagh Northern Ireland 0.8%
20 Gwynedd Wales 0.8%

Top 20, Full-Fibre Take-Up

Take-up measures the share of all premises that have actually subscribed to a full-fibre service, not just those where it is available. High take-up signals both strong consumer demand and commercial viability for further investment. Limited to authorities with at least 10k premises; the cohort median is 31.0%.

# Local Authority Nation Take-Up %
1 Kingston upon Hull, City of England 73.0%
2 Ards and North Down Northern Ireland 68.0%
3 Mid and East Antrim Northern Ireland 67.0%
4 Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Northern Ireland 64.0%
5 Newry, Mourne and Down Northern Ireland 64.0%
6 Milton Keynes England 63.0%
7 Causeway Coast and Glens Northern Ireland 62.0%
8 Antrim and Newtownabbey Northern Ireland 61.0%
9 Mid Ulster Northern Ireland 61.0%
10 East Riding of Yorkshire England 59.0%
11 Flintshire Wales 59.0%
12 Midlothian Scotland 58.0%
13 Lisburn and Castlereagh Northern Ireland 57.0%
14 Derry City and Strabane Northern Ireland 56.0%
15 Fylde England 56.0%
16 Fermanagh and Omagh Northern Ireland 54.0%
17 Worcester England 54.0%
18 Coventry England 53.0%
19 Ribble Valley England 53.0%
20 Wyre England 53.0%
Source: Ofcom Connected Nations 2025 (July 2025, r01). Open Government Licence v3.0. All figures are percentages of premises. Browse all 361 local authorities.

Every figure on PlainBroadband is rendered directly from Ofcom Connected Nations data, no number is typed in by an editor. Rankings are computed directly from Ofcom Connected Nations data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Data compiled and verified by our editorial team.