More than three quarters of a million homes (760,000) in Northern Ireland currently have access to full-fibre broadband – a higher proportion than for every other UK region.
That includes 78,000 predominantly rural premises, who were connected thanks to the Stormont Executive’s Project Stratum broadband scheme, which is nearing completion.
The number of homes and businesses unable to access decent broadband continues to fall from around 3,000 premises last year to just 2,000 (or 0.2% of all premises).
And with the upcoming ‘Project Gigabit’ in the north, coupled with roll-out plans from several commercial providers, the north is on course for near-total full fibre coverage by May 2027.
The figures are contained in regulator Ofcom’s latest ‘Connected Nations’ report, which finds that 69% (20.7 million) of UK homes now have access to full-fibre broadband, up from 57% (17.1 million) in September 2023.
Northern Ireland leads the way with 93% of homes able to access full fibre. And taking full-fibre and cable networks together, 94% of homes in the north now have access to a gigabit-capable broadband connections.
The number of NI households signed up to full-fibre broadband services where they are available rose from 39% to 53% between May 2023 and July 2024.
Unsurprisingly, Northern Ireland has the highest average maximum download speed of the four UK nations, delivering 259 Mbit/s, compared to the UK average of 223 Mbit/s.
Jonathan Rose, Ofcom’s director for Northern Ireland, said: “Full fibre availability is improving across the UK, but Northern Ireland has this year further consolidated its position as the best connected of the four UK nations.
“Fibre connections are fast and reliable, providing people with the connectivity they need to run a business, work or study from home, stream their favourite shows or shop online for Christmas.
“With further publicly funded and commercial investment planned to deliver fast broadband to hard-to-reach areas, Northern Ireland is well on the way towards full-fibre availability for all.”
The Department for the Economy is currently preparing for the implementation of ‘Project Gigabit’, which will look to serve premises not within the scope of Project Stratum rural scheme and which are outside of indicated commercial deployment plans, giving the north near-total full fibre coverage by May 2027.
