Almost half (43%) of the UK’s new build properties registered between July 2019 and April 2020 don’t have access to future-proof Fibre To The Premises (FTTP) broadband, analysis from Broadband Genie has found.
FTTP (also known as FTTH – Fibre To The Home) offers significantly quicker speeds than the broadband currently available to most premises. Fibre optic lines are capable of even greater transfer speeds, providing future-proof connectivity for years to come.
By failing to ensure that new build homes have access to this technology, the UK risks falling even further behind other countries.
Read Also: FG Announces Activities For Celebration Of Nigeria’s 60th Independence Anniversary
The UK currently ranks 47th in the world for average broadband speed, and is near the bottom of the table for full-fibre penetration among OECD countries, with FTTP accounting for just 2.33% of all broadband connections.
Alex Tofts from Broadband Genie said: “If you live in a new build home without FTTP availability, it doesn’t mean it won’t one day.
“However, the UK is more data-hungry than ever and demand is not going to decrease, so it’s essential that as many people as possible are able to access high-speed broadband.
With 58% regularly using their broadband for streaming, and the average household connection being shared between 2.4 people, the demand for high-speed broadband is growing rapidly, quickly outpacing the limited capacity of many residential connections.
The UK government has acknowledged this is an area of concern and new regulations that will make it mandatory for new build properties to have full-fibre connectivity are expected to come into force in April 2021.
