The UK’s full fibre broadband market is at a critical inflection point. With billions invested in network buildouts over the past few years, the focus has firmly shifted to take-up—how many households are actually subscribing to services. Several recent industry reports have provided various insights and discussions around the current state of play and what’s shaping adoption across the country.
These findings carry significant implications for expansion strategies, investment decisions, and market consolidation. As a technology provider working with telcos, we see firsthand how these trends impact operational efficiencies and long-term growth.
Let’s explore what the data tells us and what it means for operators navigating this fast-changing market.
UK FTTH take-up trends: A mixed picture
The overall FTTH take-up figure for AltNets has only ticked up slightly—from 16% to 17% between May and September 2024.1 At first glance, that may seem underwhelming. But context matters.
Openreach’s progress was largely driven by migrating existing customers from copper to fibre. AltNets, on the other hand, are growing from scratch—winning customers through aggressive marketing, pricing, and brand building.
Despite minimal overall growth, cohort analysis (which tracks customer uptake by deployment stage) shows a far more positive trend. In mature markets where operators have been active for longer, take-up levels are typically much higher.
Overbuild and market saturation
One of the major challenges—and opportunities—facing the market is overbuild: areas where two or more FTTP networks overlap.
As of July 2024, 22% of UK premises had access to two FTTP networks, with smaller but growing numbers having access to three or more.2 While this intensifies competition, many AltNets see it as a net positive. Increased availability stimulates broader awareness and appetite for fibre services, benefiting all providers—especially those who differentiate on service, price, or community presence.
Shifts in the broadband retail market
Overall, in the year to September 2024 broadband prices dropped 4%.3 There was wide disparity between operators offering gigabit speeds, one for as little as £26 per month, while others remain on the higher end of the spectrum.4
Inflation-linked contracts are also creating pain points for consumers. According to Ofcom, around 60% of customers face mid-contract price hikes of up to 8%, creating opportunities for nimble operators to step in.
Still, pricing aggression isn’t without risks and operators must balance subscriber acquisition with sustainability.
Brand, bundles, and the battle for awareness
A recurring theme is the importance of brand visibility and community engagement. AltNets, especially in new builds or rural areas, often start with low awareness and face the uphill battle of converting interest into subscriptions.
Success stories show that strong local branding, field sales, competitive pricing, and service quality can steadily build loyalty. This is evident in providers like Netomnia, which is achieving 11% overall take-up, but showing strong upward momentum in its older customer cohorts where some take up levels are over 30%.5
Interestingly, bundled services—like mobile or TV—are increasingly seen as critical tools to reduce churn and make offerings more compelling. Many providers have reported high churn among customers who were initially attracted by speed and price, but then disappointed by poor service.
Wholesale and consolidation: Unlocking scale
Scale matters. The major ISPs remain cautious about working with smaller wholesale providers unless they can offer national reach and simple integration. This is fuelling a wider conversation about consolidation and aggregation platforms. Could a unified wholesale platform for AltNets offer a credible alternative to the incumbents? While technically possible, many believe true scale through consolidation may be the more viable path.
Business-grade broadband and B2B opportunities
On a recent INCA webinar discussing these market trends, an interesting point was made about the growing demand for higher-spec, high-support broadband—not just for speed, but for reliability and service levels.6
As more people work from home for global firms, expectations around uptime, responsiveness, and evening/weekend support are rising. This could open opportunities for AltNets to deliver premium, business-grade residential offerings, especially in rural and underserved areas. Indeed, INCA chair and founder at Community Fibre, Tim Stranack, shared insights from market research they had carried out which showed reliability was a common theme amongst consumers and businesses. It seems the market could be quite willing to move to a reliable, SLA broadband type service.
What’s next? 3 strategic levers for fibre operators
- Cohort performance reveals future potential: While overall FTTP take-up appears modest, deeper analysis shows a strong upward trend in areas where AltNets have had time to build brand awareness and presence. Take-up above 30% is achievable with the right local strategy.7
- Service and stickiness matter: Pricing and speed are no longer enough. To win and retain customers, AltNets must focus on reliability, bundling, and top-tier support, especially as consumers become more discerning and contracts get easier to switch.
- Wholesale access and scale are kingmakers: For AltNets to truly compete with incumbent providers, wholesale integration with tier one ISPs could be critical. Achieving that may require greater collaboration, platform unification, or full-scale consolidation.
As the UK’s fibre market matures, the race is shifting from engineering feats to commercial strategy. Success will go to those who can turn infrastructure into income—not just homes passed, but customers gained and retained.
Citations:
1 Point Topic. Q3 2024 UK ISP and Network Supplier Metrics – A Market Overview. https://www.point-topic.com/post/q3-2024-uk-isp-and-network-supplier-metrics-a-market-overview.
2 Thinkbroadband. The State of Broadband Report (July 2024). https://www.thinkbroadband.com/assets/factsheet/broadband-report-july-2024.pdf.
3 Ofcom. Pricing Trends for Communications Services in the UK. December 12, 2024. https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/research-and-data/multi-sector/pricing/2024/pricing-trends-for-communications-services-in-the-uk-2024.pdf?v=387092.
4 Eight Advisory. Eight Advisory Take-Up Tracker. January 16, 2025. https://www.8advisory.com/en/2025/01/16/eight-advisory-takeup-tracker/
5 Eight Advisory. “Fibre to the Home and Take-Up Tracker: Interview with Jeremy Chelot, CEO, Netomnia.” February 26, 2025. https://www.8advisory.com/en/2025/02/26/fibre-to-the-home-and-take-up-tracker-interview-with-eight-advisory-en/.
6 Eight Advisory and INCA. UK Fibre: Take Up Report and Cohort Analysis Webinar. Webinar held March 18, 2025. https://events.mynethub.com/public/event/67c6ba7f9bf6b3b554bc5a60/?themeColor=1b2354#content.
7 Eight Advisory. “Interview: Ben Allwright, CEO, Ogi.” July 17, 2024. https://www.8advisory.com/en/2024/07/17/interview-ben-allwright/.
