Deep dive
Gigabit Britain: broadband postcode by postcode
Ofcom counts, for every postcode, how many homes and businesses could get gigabit broadband. Watch 1.7 million postcodes light up across thirteen reports, then find your council.
21 October 2026 · every figure is Ofcom's, named where it is printed and listed in How we worked this out
Main points
- In January 2026, 88.4% of homes and businesses in England could get gigabit broadband, 82.1% in Scotland and 83.1% in Wales (Ofcom, published 13 May 2026).
- In September 2020, Ofcom counted 27% of UK homes able to get gigabit broadband. It printed no figure for homes and businesses together until September 2023.
- In Dumfries and Galloway the share went from 6.4% in September 2020 to 66.9% in January 2026 (Ofcom).
- In Highland it went from 8.3% to 63.3% over the same reports (Ofcom).
I · The map, report by report
For every postcode, Ofcom counts how many of its homes and businesses can get gigabit broadband. Each point below is one of 1.7 million postcodes in Great Britain. Scroll to move through Ofcom's thirteen reports, or use the slider on the map.
I · The map One point per postcode
Each point is a postcode in Great Britain with homes or businesses in it.
Ofcom · released 17 December 2020 September 2020
The brighter a point, the more of its homes and businesses can get gigabit broadband. Full brightness means all of them can.
- England
- 25%
- Scotland
- 42%
- Wales
- 19%
- UK includes Northern Ireland
- 27%
Homes only. Ofcom printed no figure for homes and businesses together until September 2023. Source: Ofcom, released 17 December 2020.
Ofcom · released Dumfries and Galloway · not published of homes and businesses could get gigabit
6.4% in September 2020; 66.9% in January 2026. Source: Ofcom's council tables.
Full fibre · Council by council
Gigabit includes upgraded cable networks. Full fibre means the fibre runs all the way to the building. Ofcom prints full fibre for councils, not postcodes.
Council full fibre is drawn for September 2020 and January 2026 only. Move the slider to either end.
The far north-west · January 2026 Who is still waiting
Blue points are postcodes where some homes and businesses still can't get gigabit.
Na h-Eileanan Siar12%Highland63.3%Towns and cities Countryside England 91.8% 64.9% Scotland 89.2% 54% Wales 88.9% 63.6% Could get gigabit, January 2026. Source: Ofcom, released 13 May 2026.
II · England, Scotland and Wales
Ofcom prints its own figure for each nation in every report. Before September 2023 it counted homes only, so the two series are shown apart and never joined into one line.
Homes and businesses that could get gigabit, by nation
Homes and businesses: the figures
| Report | UK | England | Scotland | Wales |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2023 | 75.96% | 76.88% | 70.02% | 62.51% |
| January 2024 | 78% | 79% | 73% | 67% |
| July 2024 | 82% | 83% | 76% | 72% |
| January 2025 | 84% | 85% | 78% | 76% |
| July 2025 | 85.9% | 86.7% | 79.7% | 79.1% |
| January 2026 | 87.8% | 88.4% | 82.1% | 83.1% |
Ofcom, Connected Nations update, spring 2026: fixed coverage, UK and nations and five earlier reports · Reference: September 2023 to January 2026 · Released: 2 January 2024 to 13 May 2026. Each figure has the decimals Ofcom used in that report. The UK includes Northern Ireland.
Homes that could get gigabit, by nation
Homes only: the figures
| Report | UK | England | Scotland | Wales |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2020 | 27% | 25% | 42% | 19% |
| January 2021 | 37% | 36% | 44% | 28% |
| May 2021 | 40% | 38% | 47% | 30% |
| September 2021 | 47% | 46% | 51% | 36% |
| January 2022 | 66% | 67% | 60% | 46% |
| May 2022 | 68% | 69% | 63% | 49% |
| September 2022 | 70% | 71% | 64% | 52% |
Ofcom, Connected Nations 2022: UK report, Table 2.3 (residential premises) and six earlier reports · Reference: September 2020 to September 2022 · Released: 17 December 2020 to 15 December 2022. Homes only: these cannot be set beside the homes-and-businesses figures above.
III · Town and country
In January 2026, the countryside was behind towns and cities in every nation. In the UK, 65% of rural homes and businesses could get gigabit, against 91.6% in towns and cities.
The Scottish countryside had the lowest figure, at 54%. Rural Wales was at 63.6% and rural England at 64.9%.
Could get gigabit, January 2026
- UK 65% · 91.6%
- England 64.9% · 91.8%
- Scotland 54% · 89.2%
- Wales 63.6% · 88.9%
Ofcom, Connected Nations update, spring 2026: fixed coverage, UK and nations · Reference: January 2026 · Released: 13 May 2026
IV · Your council
Ofcom also prints a figure for every council. Pick yours to see where it stood in September 2020 and in January 2026.
Hover or tap an area for its figure, or use the arrow keys.
- 12% to 79.5%
- 80% to 86.1%
- 86.2% to 91.2%
- 91.3% to 94.3%
- 94.4% to 99.6%
Boundaries: ONS Local Authority Districts May 2025 UK BGC (V2).
Ofcom, Connected Nations update, spring 2026: fixed coverage, UK and nations · Reference: January 2026 · Released: 13 May 2026
| September 2020 | January 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Could get gigabit | 8.3% | 63.3% |
| Could get full fibre | 8.3% | 63.3% |
Share of homes and businesses. Released: 17 December 2020 and 13 May 2026. A council made after September 2020 has no figure for it.
Every report, and each constituency, is on datamap.uk's map: Gigabit in Highlandon datamap.uk Full fibre in Highlandon datamap.uk
What this doesn't tell you
- These figures are about what homes and businesses could get, not what they buy, what they pay or the speeds they get.
- Ofcom builds them from what network operators tell it.
- Ofcom's nation figures before September 2023 count homes only and cannot be set beside the later ones.
- Each point sits where the ONS Postcode Directory puts its postcode, at half the precision Ofcom printed, for drawing. No number on this page is read from the points.
- Northern Ireland is in the UK figure but not on the map or in the councils.
- Council figures for September 2020 for Barnsley, Cumberland, North Northamptonshire, North Yorkshire, Sheffield, Somerset, West Northamptonshire, Westmorland and Furness: Ofcom printed no figure.
How we worked this out
Every figure on this page is one Ofcom printed, read from its own file at a recorded position and checked again before each release. Nothing is calculated. The nation figures come from Ofcom's UK-and-nations tables and, before September 2023, from its reports; the council figures from its local authority tables.
Sources
| Source | Reference | Released | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
Ofcom Connected Nations 2020: UK report, Figure 4 (residential premises) The UK, England, Scotland and Wales figures for homes that could get gigabit broadband (Figure 4); read from connected-nations-2020.pdf (sha256 ff3ff6e9f3b2…) on 2026-10-21 | September 2020 | 17 December 2020 | Dataset Data file |
Ofcom Connected Nations update, spring 2021 (residential premises) The UK, England, Scotland and Wales figures for homes that could get gigabit broadband (dashboard); read from connected-nations-spring-update-2021.pdf (sha256 2d2eb769d569…) on 2026-10-21 | January 2021 | 12 May 2021 | Dataset Data file |
Ofcom Connected Nations update, summer 2021 (residential premises) The UK, England, Scotland and Wales figures for homes that could get gigabit broadband (dashboard); read from connected-nations-summer-2021.pdf (sha256 dfffa216b1f7…) on 2026-10-21 | May 2021 | 9 September 2021 | Dataset Data file |
Ofcom Connected Nations 2021: UK report, Figure 2 (residential premises) The UK, England, Scotland and Wales figures for homes that could get gigabit broadband (Figure 2); read from connected-nations-2021-uk.pdf (sha256 4ac16495cfdb…) on 2026-10-21 | September 2021 | 16 December 2021 | Dataset Data file |
Ofcom Connected Nations update, spring 2022 (residential premises) The UK, England, Scotland and Wales figures for homes that could get gigabit broadband (dashboard); read from connected-nations-update-spring-2022 (sha256 b00383308fe5…) on 2026-10-21 | January 2022 | 20 May 2022 | Dataset Data file |
Ofcom Connected Nations update, autumn 2022 (residential premises) The UK, England, Scotland and Wales figures for homes that could get gigabit broadband (dashboard); read from connected-nations-autumn-update-2022.pdf (sha256 d5221ddbd9f2…) on 2026-10-21 | May 2022 | 7 October 2022 | Dataset Data file |
Ofcom Connected Nations 2022: UK report, Table 2.3 (residential premises) The UK, England, Scotland and Wales figures for homes that could get gigabit broadband (Table 2.3); read from connected-nations-uk-report.pdf (sha256 969164528a8d…) on 2026-10-21 | September 2022 | 15 December 2022 | Dataset Data file |
Ofcom Connected Nations 2023: fixed coverage, UK and nations The UK, England, Scotland and Wales figures for homes and businesses that could get gigabit broadband, in total, in towns and in the countryside; read from 202309_fixed_coverage_uk_and_nations_r01.zip (sha256 09f82f18fea7…) on 2026-10-21 | September 2023 | 2 January 2024 | Dataset Data file |
Ofcom Connected Nations update, spring 2024: fixed coverage, UK and nations The UK, England, Scotland and Wales figures for homes and businesses that could get gigabit broadband, in total, in towns and in the countryside; read from 202401_fixed_coverage_uk_and_nations_r01.zip (sha256 ccb466373319…) on 2026-10-21 | January 2024 | 24 April 2024 | Dataset Data file |
Ofcom Connected Nations 2024: fixed coverage, UK and nations The UK, England, Scotland and Wales figures for homes and businesses that could get gigabit broadband, in total, in towns and in the countryside; Gigabit for Dumfries and Galloway, Na h-Eileanan Siar and Highland, from the local authority table; read from 202407-fixed-coverage-uk-nations-laua-pcon-r01.zip (sha256 69c7f4e99d17…) on 2026-10-21 | July 2024 | 5 December 2024 | Dataset Data file |
Ofcom Connected Nations update, spring 2025: fixed coverage, UK and nations The UK, England, Scotland and Wales figures for homes and businesses that could get gigabit broadband, in total, in towns and in the countryside; Gigabit for Dumfries and Galloway, Na h-Eileanan Siar and Highland, from the local authority table; read from fixed-coverage-and-full-fibre-take-up.zip.zip (sha256 bbfe81a5d727…) on 2026-10-21 | January 2025 | 8 May 2025 | Dataset Data file |
Ofcom Connected Nations 2025: fixed coverage, UK and nations The UK, England, Scotland and Wales figures for homes and businesses that could get gigabit broadband, in total, in towns and in the countryside; Gigabit for Dumfries and Galloway, Na h-Eileanan Siar and Highland, from the local authority table; read from 202507_fixed_broadband_coverage_r01.zip (sha256 b128f5423ad7…) on 2026-10-21 | July 2025 | 19 November 2025 | Dataset Data file |
Ofcom Connected Nations update, spring 2026: fixed coverage, UK and nations The UK, England, Scotland and Wales figures for homes and businesses that could get gigabit broadband, in total, in towns and in the countryside; Gigabit and full fibre for every council, from the local authority table; read from 202601_fixed_broadband_coverage_and_full_fibre_take-up-r1.zip (sha256 0ddc33723e34…) on 2026-10-21 | January 2026 | 13 May 2026 | Dataset Data file |
Ofcom Connected Nations, September 2020: fixed coverage by local authority Gigabit and full fibre for every council; read from cn-2020-fixed-laua-coverage.zip (sha256 ff4d232a8142…) on 2026-10-21 | September 2020 | 17 December 2020 | Dataset Data file |
Ofcom Connected Nations, January 2021: fixed coverage by local authority Gigabit for Dumfries and Galloway, Na h-Eileanan Siar and Highland; read from fixed-coverage-local-and-unitary-authority-data.zip (sha256 8678b1f96bc1…) on 2026-10-21 | January 2021 | 12 May 2021 | Dataset Data file |
Ofcom Connected Nations, May 2021: fixed coverage by local authority Gigabit for Dumfries and Galloway, Na h-Eileanan Siar and Highland; read from 202105_fixed_laua_coverage_r01.zip (sha256 82fdf2715fa4…) on 2026-10-21 | May 2021 | 9 September 2021 | Dataset Data file |
Ofcom Connected Nations, September 2021: fixed coverage by local authority Gigabit for Dumfries and Galloway, Na h-Eileanan Siar and Highland; read from cn-2021-fixed-laua-coverage.zip (sha256 bc80f898405f…) on 2026-10-21 | September 2021 | 23 February 2022 | Dataset Data file |
Ofcom Connected Nations, January 2022: fixed coverage by local authority Gigabit for Dumfries and Galloway, Na h-Eileanan Siar and Highland; read from cn-spring-2022-fixed-laua-coverage.zip (sha256 b5e16b43f839…) on 2026-10-21 | January 2022 | 20 May 2022 | Dataset Data file |
Ofcom Connected Nations, May 2022: fixed coverage by local authority Gigabit for Dumfries and Galloway, Na h-Eileanan Siar and Highland; read from 202205_fixed_laua_coverage_r01.zip (sha256 774c04bc6c3e…) on 2026-10-21 | May 2022 | 7 October 2022 | Dataset Data file |
Ofcom Connected Nations, September 2022: fixed coverage by local authority Gigabit for Dumfries and Galloway, Na h-Eileanan Siar and Highland; read from 202209_fixed_laua_coverage_r02.zip (sha256 a2afd575be2c…) on 2026-10-21 | September 2022 | 9 February 2023 | Dataset Data file |
Ofcom Connected Nations, September 2023: fixed coverage by local authority Gigabit for Dumfries and Galloway, Na h-Eileanan Siar and Highland; read from 202309_fixed_laua_coverage_r01.zip (sha256 896986e646e6…) on 2026-10-21 | September 2023 | 2 January 2024 | Dataset Data file |
Ofcom Connected Nations, January 2024: fixed coverage by local authority Gigabit for Dumfries and Galloway, Na h-Eileanan Siar and Highland; read from 202401_fixed_laua_coverage_r01.zip (sha256 9a65eb69b244…) on 2026-10-21 | January 2024 | 24 April 2024 | Dataset Data file |
Ofcom Connected Nations: fixed coverage by postcode Gigabit availability (% premises) for every postcode in Great Britain, drawn at the postcode’s point in the ONS Postcode Directory. Drawn only: no figure on this page is read from it | September 2020 to January 2026 | Thirteen reports, 17 December 2020 to 13 May 2026 | Source |