Ofcom has announced that full fibre broadband is set to reach half of UK homes as soon as March 2023.

Just five years ago, only 6% of UK homes could get full fibre broadband, but with government initiatives like project gigabit and programmes aiming to close the digital divide, full fibre broadband has expanded across the UK.

Competition and investment from network builders has seen full fibre reach 42% of UK homes by September 2022.

Based on current data, Ofcom has projected that the 50% threshold will be passed this March, and more than 80% of homes will receive full fibre broadband within the next two years.

The regulator has not made any claims as to the regions which will most benefit from the full fibre expansion. Among concerns about the full fibre expansion is the rural divide, where more rural and remote regions of the UK struggle to gain any connectivity while cities and urban areas get better, faster broadband.

Fair Competition Vs Further Expansion 

Ofcom has credited competition for driving the expansion of full fibre, which they claim was driven by their competition-friendly policies allowing alternative network firms to join the ranks of Openreach and Virgin Media on a “level-playing field.”

These challenger firms are doubling their collective footprint each year and together they expect to reach 11.5m homes by the end of this year. Investment in independent broadband builders is strong and expected to reach £17bn by 2025.

Despite Ofcom’s pro-competition stance, it has dealt with recent controversy over its projected position on a price change introduced by network giant Openreach. The price plan will significantly decrease full fibre options for Openreach users at a level smaller alternative networks will struggle to match. Previously, Openreach’s higher prices allowed these challenger networks onto the scene.

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In their initial statement, Ofcom said they were unlikely to find the price plan uncompetitive, drawing backlash from competition defenders.

Ofcom’s position puts full fibre expansion priorities ahead of competition concerns. Based on their projections, however, it appears expansion is greatly benefiting from the current market environment.

Still, the company is yet to decide on the specific case and has called for further investigations into whether the price plan is anti-competitive in nature.

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