Summary Bullets:
• Ofcom’s analysis shows substantial progress in the nationwide availability of superfast fixed broadband and 5G – crucial business enablers in the SME segment.
• Beyond faster connectivity for everyday office, admin, and communications, a growing range of case-specific solutions are being enabled to improve efficiency.
UK regulator Ofcom has updated its ‘Connected Nations’ report with 2023 availability figures for broadband and mobile services in the UK, including the rollout of fixed full-fiber and 5G mobile networks. With an estimated GBP7.9 billion invested in UK telecoms infrastructure in 2022 (GBP5.6 billion fixed, GBP1.8 billion mobile, GBP600 million ‘other’), full-fiber broadband is now available at 57% of UK residential premises (2022: 42%), and gigabit-capable broadband coverage levels now exceed 78% of UK premises (70% in 2022).
The level of 5G coverage provided outside of premises by at least one mobile network operator (MNO) rose from 67-78% in 2022 (across a range covering ‘very high’ and ‘high’ confidence levels of availability) to 85-93% in 2023. As of September 2023, there were more than 18,500 5G deployments in place across about 81,000 sites in the UK, up from about 12,000 5G deployments reported in 2022.
Uptake of full-fiber connections was 1.7 million (to end-May 2023), out of a total of 4.6 million connections, representing an adoption level of just over a third (37%). As a proportion of premises where it is available, uptake rose by three percentage points from 25% in 2022 to 28% with uptake varying across nations, between urban and rural areas, and among local authorities.
5G traffic grew around 140%, rising from 63PB in 2022 to 151PB in 2023. Traffic on 5G-capable handsets represents around 17% of total mobile traffic (about 9% in 2022.) There is also evidence of take-up of broadband delivered by low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites such as Starlink – mostly in rural areas. Fixed wireless access (FWA) services were estimated to be available to 95% of UK premises. In parallel, Ofcom estimates only 0.2% of premises in the UK do not have access to a ‘decent’ broadband service (at least 10 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream).
It is encouraging to see that a high proportion of SMEs across all UK nations have high availability of superfast broadband. The only real disappointment lies in availability in the more extreme rural areas of Scotland and Wales, which will hopefully continue to get better coverage driven by the government’s GBP5 billion ‘Project Gigabit’ (aiming for gigabit-capable broadband coverage of 85% of UK premises by 2025).
Reliable, fast connectivity is just the start in order to access the internet, use Microsoft Office and other apps, and switch to VoIP before the PSTN switch-off. Broader availability also enables niche and specific solutions like private wireless networks for ports, airports, and manufacturing; through to IoT networks of devices and sensors for local authorities’ efforts in smart cities; through to maximizing farming productivity by optimizing use of resources like water and fertilizer; and tracking and tracing goods and assets in transport and logistics