Broadband, mobile and online safety: your questions answered
Full fibre and gigabit coverage, Project Gigabit, 4G and 5G signal, broadband speeds, internet use, the landline switch-off and the Online Safety Act.
How can I check broadband and mobile coverage at my address?
Ofcom's free broadband and mobile checker shows which broadband services and speeds are available at an address, and the predicted indoor and outdoor mobile coverage from each network for a postcode. It draws on the data providers give Ofcom for its Connected Nations reports.
For upgrades, the government's gigabit availability checker shows whether gigabit-capable broadband is available at an address, planned through a commercial or Project Gigabit build, or not yet in any known plans, as the Project Gigabit progress update describes. Ofcom also publishes area-level open data.
Mobile results are predictions, so the signal you get can differ, especially indoors. If you cannot get 10 Mbit/s broadband, see the broadband universal service obligation.
Related: How good is 4G and 5G mobile coverage in the UK? · How many UK homes can get full fibre broadband? · What is Project Gigabit?
How good is 4G and 5G mobile coverage in the UK?
The government says its Shared Rural Network, built with the mobile operators, put over 95% of the UK within range of a 4G signal by mid-2025, a year ahead of schedule, as reported in its programme update. The remaining work focuses on total not-spots with no signal from any operator.
Related: How can I check broadband and mobile coverage at my address? · How much of the UK has gigabit broadband?
How many people in the UK use the internet?
The ONS measured internet use through the Labour Force Survey until its Internet users, UK: 2020 bulletin, which found 92% of adults had used the internet in the previous three months and 6.3% had never used it. The ONS has since discontinued the series.
Ofcom's yearly Adults' Media Use and Attitudes report is now the main official source. It reports the share of adults with no internet access at home, which is small and made up mostly of older people.
Not having internet access at home is different from never going online, because some people use the internet elsewhere or ask others to do things for them. Check which measure, and which year, a figure uses.
Related: Is the UK population ageing? · What is the average broadband speed in the UK? · What is the broadband universal service obligation?
How many UK homes can get full fibre broadband?
Ofcom publishes the official count of UK homes that can get full fibre broadband. Its Connected Nations report each winter gives coverage for the UK and each nation, and its planned network deployments report each spring adds a January update and the coverage operators expect to reach over the next three years.
The government's Project Gigabit progress update of 22 September 2026, citing Ofcom, put gigabit-capable coverage at more than 88% of UK premises in January 2026. Full fibre is a narrower measure, so its share is lower. To check a single address, use Ofcom's broadband and mobile checker.
Full fibre, meaning fibre all the way to the premises, is narrower than gigabit-capable coverage, which also counts upgraded cable networks. Availability is not take-up: many homes that can get full fibre have not switched to it.
Related: How much of the UK has gigabit broadband? · What is Project Gigabit? · How can I check broadband and mobile coverage at my address?
What is the Online Safety Act?
The Online Safety Act 2023 places legal duties on social media sites, search services and other online platforms to protect users, especially children, from illegal and harmful content. It became law on 26 October 2023 and is enforced by Ofcom, according to the government's Online Safety Act explainer.
The duties came in by phases. Ofcom could enforce the illegal content duties from 17 March 2025, and the child safety duties, including age checks for pornography and other harmful material, from 25 July 2025. Companies can be fined up to £18 million or 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue, whichever is greater.
The full text is on legislation.gov.uk. Extra duties for the largest "categorised" services follow later, so check which duties are in force before assessing a claim about what the Act requires.
Related: Why do UK websites ask me to verify my age? · Is social media being banned for under-16s in the UK?
Why do UK websites ask me to verify my age?
Since 25 July 2025, sites and apps that host pornography or content about self-harm, suicide or eating disorders must check users' ages to stop under-18s seeing it, under the Online Safety Act's child safety duties, as the government set out in what's changing for children from 25 July 2025.
Accepted methods include facial age estimation, photo ID and credit card checks. The government says platforms must confirm age without collecting or storing personal data unless absolutely necessary, and the Information Commissioner's Office sets out how data protection law applies to age checks. Ofcom enforces the duties.
VPNs are legal in the UK, but platforms that deliberately promote them to UK children could face enforcement, according to the government's explanation of the changes. See also what the Online Safety Act does.
Related: What is the Online Safety Act? · Is social media being banned for under-16s in the UK?
How much of the UK has gigabit broadband?
Gigabit-capable broadband was available to more than 88% of UK homes and businesses in January 2026, up from 20% in May 2020, according to Ofcom figures cited in the government's Project Gigabit progress update of 22 September 2026. About 4 million premises were still without it.
Coverage was 95% in Northern Ireland, 83% in Wales and 82% in Scotland. Gigabit-capable means a connection that can deliver download speeds of 1 gigabit per second (1,000 Mbit/s), through full fibre or upgraded cable networks. The government's target, on its Project Gigabit page, is 99% of premises by 2032.
Ofcom reports some figures for homes only and others for all premises including businesses, which is why its planned deployments report gives 89% of homes for the same month. Check which base a figure uses.
Related: How many UK homes can get full fibre broadband? · What is Project Gigabit? · What is the average broadband speed in the UK?
What is Project Gigabit?
Project Gigabit is the UK government programme, run by Building Digital UK (BDUK), that funds gigabit-capable broadband in places broadband companies are not planning to reach on their own. By March 2026 it had helped bring gigabit-capable broadband to 1.4 million homes and businesses, and more than £2 billion had been committed through signed contracts, according to the September 2026 progress update.
It works through regional contracts with suppliers and the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme, which offers eligible premises up to £4,500 towards installation, as set out on the Project Gigabit page. Over 28,000 premises have been connected through vouchers.
Programme connections are not the same as national coverage, which Ofcom measures and which mostly comes from commercial building; see gigabit coverage. The GOV.UK address checker shows whether an address is in any known plan.
Related: How much of the UK has gigabit broadband? · How many UK homes can get full fibre broadband? · How can I check broadband and mobile coverage at my address?
What is the average broadband speed in the UK?
Ofcom is the official source for UK broadband speeds. Its home broadband performance research measured the speeds real connections received, giving median and mean download speeds by technology; its last report in that series was published in September 2023. Ofcom now tracks broadband mainly through its Connected Nations reports, which show the speeds available at each address rather than the speeds people receive.
The median speed is far below the mean because a minority of very fast full fibre and cable lines pull the average up, and full fibre lines are many times faster than older copper ADSL lines.
Speed tests run at home are affected by Wi-Fi, devices and time of day, so they are not directly comparable with Ofcom's figures. Check whether a claim refers to available, advertised or measured speeds.
Related: How much of the UK has gigabit broadband? · How many UK homes can get full fibre broadband? · What is the broadband universal service obligation?
When is the landline switch-off?
The analogue network behind traditional landlines, the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), is being switched off by the telecoms industry, and all landlines and devices that rely on it need to be upgraded to digital by January 2027, according to the government's guidance on moving landlines to digital technologies. When that guidance was published in May 2025, over two thirds of UK landlines had already moved to internet-based calling (VoIP).
Providers will contact customers before switching them. Other devices that use the old network, such as telecare alarms, door entry systems and some alarm systems, may also need upgrading. The guidance cites Ofcom data showing over 2,600 major incidents on the old network in 2024 to 2025.
The migration is led by industry, not government, so timings vary by provider and area.
Related: How many people in the UK use the internet? · How much of the UK has gigabit broadband?
What is the broadband universal service obligation?
The broadband universal service obligation gives homes and businesses a legal right to request a decent broadband connection, defined as at least 10 Mbit/s download and 1 Mbit/s upload, if they cannot already get one. Ofcom oversees it, and its guide to the right to request explains who qualifies.
Requests go to BT, or to KCOM in the Hull area, and you do not need to be an existing customer. A connection is built at no extra charge if it costs no more than £3,400 excluding VAT; above that, the customer can pay the difference. Premises are not eligible if a publicly funded scheme will cover them within 12 months.
The 10 Mbit/s standard is a safety net far below the gigabit target. The government consulted on reviewing the universal service obligation in 2023, so check the current terms before relying on older descriptions.
Related: How much of the UK has gigabit broadband? · How can I check broadband and mobile coverage at my address?
These answers say where official figures are published and how they are defined. They give no verdict on any claim. To report an error, send a correction request.