UK communications regulator Ofcom has set out the regulatory structure which it believes will drive full-fibre gigabit broadband to reach almost all UK homes and businesses over the next two years.
In setting out its Telecoms Access Review (TAR) 2026-31, finalising plans for how it will enable further competition and investment in the sector, Ofcom has gained general acceptance of its plans from the UK’s disparate and sometimes fractious broadband ecosystem.
Essentially, the regulator says the availability of full-fibre broadband almost everywhere in the UK will lay the foundations for productivity gains across the UK, and according to projections in its Connected nations: Planned network deployments 2025 report, given what is described as “the right support”, full-fibre is set to reach almost 29 million properties by the end of 2027, equivalent to well over nine in 10.
With the broadband industry investing billions each year in bringing better broadband to communities up and down the country, Ofcom says UK gigabit roll-out is now reaching its end phase. Yet it emphasised that the job is not yet done, and to realise the productivity potential of full-fibre for the UK economy, as much of the country as possible must have access to it.
Ofcom says the next frontier for fibre is customers taking it up, with more than half of those eligible for an upgrade yet to make the change. It observed that people and businesses have more choice between broadband providers than ever before – around three-quarters have access to at least two networks, and nearly a third of the country can choose between three. This, it says, has meant “ever-better services at attractive prices”.
At the heart of the announcement is guidance on how Ofcom regulates UK broadband leader Openreach, building on its 2021 regulations regarding the BT-owned company.
Ofcom claims that since it introduced a new regulatory framework, it has driven competition between different broadband networks, meaning that fibre roll-out has been an infrastructure success story.
Protecting sustainable competition
Ofcom believes Openreach is retaining significant power in the market, and that the market is not at a point where it can remove regulation entirely. Indeed, it stressed that it was therefore maintaining rules around discounts and deals that could stifle investment and the development of sustainable competition.
Ofcom says that through its move, it is incentivising existing networks to invest while making it cheaper and easier for new entrants to the market to build using Openreach’s ducts and telegraph poles. As a result, Ofcom claims, the UK has seen one of the fastest rates of roll-out of full-fibre broadband in Europe, with industry investment ranging between £3bn and £6bn each year.
Among the market decisions it has made to support competition, Ofcom has mandated that Openreach’s competitors will continue to have access to its ducts and poles at “fair, cost-based” prices so they can deploy their own networks quickly and economically across the UK.
To protect quality of service in less densely populated parts of the UK, where Openreach is unlikely to face competition, Ofcom is introducing backstop standards around the speed and quality of repairs and installations for Openreach’s full-fibre services. Elsewhere, it expects competition to drive service quality.
In addition, to address concerns regarding affordability, Ofcom said it would cap the nominal price that Openreach can charge retail providers like Vodafone or Sky – who lease its infrastructure – for download speeds up to 80Mbps, rather than 40Mbps at present. The prices of higher-speed products will remain unregulated, so providers have an incentive to invest in networks that can deliver faster speeds.
And as part of its general transitioning to full-fibre networks and gradually shutting down old telephone exchanges, Ofcom said Openreach should not have to incur unnecessary costs for running two networks at the same time. It said it would progressively shift regulation away from copper services to full-fibre services, giving Openreach flexibility to encourage customers to migrate off its old copper network. Alongside its TAR plans, Ofcom said it would be consulting on the specific conditions for when price protections on copper-based services should be removed.
Ofcom’s decisions are set to take effect from 1 April 2026, and the regulator assured that if sustainable competition was still emerging in 2031, when its next review was due to take place, it expects to regulate in a way that supports it.
It also stressed that should it need to set price controls on Openreach in the future, it would have the opportunity to earn a return above the cost of its investment over time. Alternatively, it noted that if effective competition has emerged by the time of the next review, there would be no need to regulate beyond access to ducts and poles.
Commenting on the review’s need and aims, Ofcom’s group director for infrastructure and connectivity, Natalie Black, said: “Today marks a major milestone on the road to a better-connected, more productive Britain. Five years ago, we put in place new rules to drive competition between networks and get them building full-fibre broadband, which now reaches nearly eight in 10 homes and offices across the country.
“But our mission isn’t yet complete, and we’re creating the right conditions for the fibre roll-out in its final phase,” she said. “Our review of the rules has been an extensive and complex undertaking given the nature of the market, and we appreciate the considered engagement from the sector.”
Before the TAR was published, there was a worry in the UK’s broadband industry that it would be a charter to maintain Openreach’s market dominance. Yet broad response to the TAR has been balanced and positive across the board.
Mark Shurmer, managing director for regulation at Openreach, said: “No one is going further or faster than us to build the UK’s best network(s). Our investments help customers – and the country – do brilliant things, but they only happen when the environment is stable and supportive. That’s why Ofcom’s review is critical to the future of digital connectivity across the UK. We’ll continue to work with Ofcom to make sure the regulation set today will allow fair competition within that market to get the best results for consumers. This market is evolving rapidly and, with competition more intense than ever, it’s really important that regulation keeps pace with that change.”
Market consolidation and continued investment
Rajiv Datta, CEO at rival Nexfibre, said the TAR has outlined why Ofcom is right to prioritise regulatory stability – and why sustainable, nationwide competition to BT Openreach will only be achieved through market consolidation and continued investment.
“Ofcom is right to stay the course and prioritise regulatory stability,” he said. “This is not the moment to deregulate the incumbent; what’s needed is steady oversight and firm enforcement of the framework already in place.
“The reality is that sustainable, nationwide competition to BT Openreach will only be achieved through consolidation and continued investment. The fibre market remains too fragmented to deliver this on its own.
“Nexfibre’s acquisition of Netomnia is an important step towards building the scale required to change that,” said Datta. “Now is the moment for clear action. The UK must show it is committed to supporting the investment needed to secure the long‑term digital infrastructure that will drive productivity, innovation and economic growth.”
A spokesperson for leading alternative broadband provider CityFibre said: “Ofcom is doubling down on its long-term strategy to promote sustainable infrastructure competition, continuing to strengthen the much-needed constraints on anti-competitive pricing from BT Openreach and recognising the importance of strong rival fibre networks to challenge the incumbents. The Telecoms Access Review provides CityFibre with a stable regulatory framework as we scale our network and bring the benefits of genuine infrastructure competition.”
