Broadband milestone reached as full fibre rollout expands across Wales

Nation.Cymru staff

More than 1.25 million homes and businesses in Wales can now access full fibre broadband through Openreach’s network, although the company says thousands of eligible customers have yet to upgrade.

The milestone means around 80% of premises in Wales are now able to connect to full fibre services delivered over the Openreach network, which is used by providers including BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Vodafone.

Openreach said coverage has increased rapidly, rising from one million premises at the end of 2024 to 1.25 million today.

Take-up is also growing, with close to half of eligible homes and businesses in Wales having already switched to full fibre connections.

The upgraded network replaces older copper-based infrastructure with fibre-optic technology capable of delivering faster and more reliable broadband speeds.

However, Openreach said many customers who can already access the service have not yet made the switch.

Martin Williams, Openreach’s partnership director for Wales, said: “This is an important moment for Wales and a clear sign of the progress being made to improve digital connectivity across the country.

“Across the UK we’re seeing more people choose Full Fibre as it becomes available, and it’s encouraging to see that momentum reflected in Wales too, with more households starting to experience the everyday benefits, whether that’s working from home, studying, running a business or staying connected.

“But these upgrades don’t happen automatically. Many homes and businesses could already benefit from better broadband today, and I’d encourage people to check what’s available where they live and speak to their broadband provider about upgrading.”

The company said availability can vary from street to street and is urging households and businesses to check what services are available in their area.

The announcement comes as Openreach continues a UK-wide programme to replace ageing broadband infrastructure. The company has invested up to £15 billion in its full fibre rollout and aims to reach 25 million premises across the UK by the end of 2026. Longer-term plans could see that figure rise to 30 million by 2030.

Openreach’s network is not the only full fibre provider operating in Wales. Other companies, including Virgin Media O2, nexfibre, Ogi and Netomnia, have also expanded their networks in recent years.

According to industry figures, overall full fibre coverage across Wales now stands at around 86%.