Rankings

Best broadband coverage in the UK

Q: Which UK area has the best broadband?

Hull has the highest gigabit-capable coverage in the UK at 99.8% of premises. Coverage across the 367 ranked areas averages 84.6%.

Q: What does 'gigabit-capable' mean?

Gigabit-capable means a residential broadband connection of 1 Gbit/s (1,000 Mbit/s) or faster is available at the premises. This usually comes from full fibre or upgraded cable, not from copper phone-line broadband. It's the fastest widely-available consumer tier in the UK.

Q: Is coverage the same as take-up?

No. Coverage means the connection is available at the premises. Take-up is the percentage of premises that have actually subscribed to it. Take-up can be well below coverage because many people stay on cheaper, slower packages. See the individual area profiles for both figures.

Q: How is broadband coverage measured?

Ofcom collects coverage data twice a year from all major broadband providers, reporting at the residential premises level. Figures are aggregated to local authority level for public release. The July 2025 release is the most recent snapshot.

The UK area with the best broadband coverage is Hull at 99.8% gigabit-capable coverage. The average across the 367 ranked areas is 84.6%. Coverage here means the connection is available at the premises, not that everyone has taken it up. Take-up rates sit on each area profile.

Data last updated: 1 September 2026

Every UK local authority ranked by gigabit-capable broadband coverage, based on Ofcom's Connected Nations data (July 2025). Hull leads at 99.8%, closely followed by Oadby and Wigston (98.7%) and Luton (98.5%).

The full ranking sits below. Click any column header to re-sort by full fibre, rent or earnings, or click any area name to open its full cost of living profile.

#	Area	Region	Gigabit coverage	Full fibre coverage	Avg. rent (£/mo)	Avg. earnings (£/yr)
1	Hull	Yorkshire and The Humber	99.8%	99.8%	£684	£27,309
2	Oadby and Wigston	East Midlands	98.7%	95.1%	£1,020	£28,368
3	Luton	East of England	98.5%	91.4%	£1,211	£28,741
4	Southend-on-Sea	East of England	98.3%	97.6%	£1,278	£33,594
5	Wolverhampton	West Midlands	98.2%	95.6%	£928	£31,308
6	Gosport	South East	98.0%	92.0%	£1,150	£34,256
7	Knowsley	North West	97.9%	93.3%	£805	£32,542
8	Derby	East Midlands	97.7%	87.3%	£847	£30,467
9	Fareham	South East	97.7%	87.0%	£1,206	£38,851
10	Middlesbrough	North East	97.7%	61.7%	£709	£30,253
11	Oldham	North West	97.6%	93.8%	£910	£29,124
12	Worthing	South East	97.6%	93.0%	£1,310	£32,823
13	Cannock Chase	West Midlands	97.5%	96.8%	£841	£30,178
14	Coventry	West Midlands	97.4%	96.3%	£1,021	£33,063
15	Leicester	East Midlands	97.4%	93.8%	£1,026	£27,858
16	Bracknell Forest	South East	97.3%	96.7%	£1,501	£36,067
17	Dudley	West Midlands	97.1%	87.7%	£846	£30,822
18	Hartlepool	North East	97.1%	95.2%	£570	£28,830
19	Ipswich	East of England	97.0%	95.6%	£985	£30,928
20	Portsmouth	South East	97.0%	82.1%	£1,357	£30,962
21	Rotherham	Yorkshire and The Humber	96.9%	93.2%	£678	£29,664
22	Slough	South East	96.9%	90.9%	£1,567	£35,521
23	St. Helens	North West	96.8%	92.4%	£774	£31,443
24	Bolton	North West	96.7%	88.1%	£878	£29,409
25	Wigan	North West	96.7%	85.1%	£732	£31,615
26	Nottingham	East Midlands	96.6%	84.9%	£1,008	£26,512
27	Halton	North West	96.5%	88.7%	£732	£29,819
28	Southampton	South East	96.5%	93.9%	£1,246	£32,907
29	Warrington	North West	96.5%	92.1%	£880	£34,144
30	Renfrewshire	Scotland	96.4%	91.0%	£826	£32,832
31	Mansfield	East Midlands	96.3%	85.3%	£770	£28,170
32	Sandwell	West Midlands	96.3%	88.9%	£938	£27,652
33	Solihull	West Midlands	96.3%	80.1%	£1,258	£36,672
34	Stoke-on-Trent	West Midlands	96.3%	90.2%	£708	£29,041
35	Wirral	North West	96.3%	93.4%	£830	£32,959
36	Doncaster	Yorkshire and The Humber	96.2%	94.3%	£684	£31,119
37	Milton Keynes	South East	96.2%	96.2%	£1,329	£36,061
38	Rushmoor	South East	96.2%	88.9%	£1,369	£33,734
39	Burnley	North West	96.0%	89.3%	£624	£29,680
40	Erewash	East Midlands	95.9%	92.4%	£831	£31,673
41	Reading	South East	95.9%	94.9%	£1,579	£35,454
42	Wakefield	Yorkshire and The Humber	95.9%	94.7%	£787	£29,954
43	Adur	South East	95.8%	77.7%	£1,379	£30,217
44	Broxtowe	East Midlands	95.8%	85.7%	£963	£30,966
45	Leeds	Yorkshire and The Humber	95.8%	92.5%	£1,130	£31,679
46	Epsom and Ewell	South East	95.7%	88.9%	£1,682	£43,006
47	North East Lincolnshire	Yorkshire and The Humber	95.7%	76.5%	£614	£28,898
48	North Northamptonshire	East Midlands	95.6%	88.1%	£978	£32,882
49	Peterborough	East of England	95.6%	94.4%	£976	£29,828
50	Stockport	North West	95.6%	85.3%	£1,091	£33,565
51	Tameside	North West	95.6%	91.0%	£917	£29,877
52	Dundee	Scotland	95.6%	85.7%	£834	£30,523
53	Barking and Dagenham	London	95.5%	89.8%	£1,687	£32,911
54	Ashfield	East Midlands	95.4%	67.6%	£777	£27,797
55	Birmingham	West Midlands	95.4%	83.7%	£1,086	£30,180
56	Kirklees	Yorkshire and The Humber	95.2%	92.4%	£759	£30,238
57	East Renfrewshire	Scotland	95.2%	88.2%	£826	£39,965
58	Falkirk	Scotland	95.1%	66.2%	£900	£32,330
59	Camden	London	95.0%	84.5%	£2,654	£44,088
60	Havant	South East	95.0%	61.0%	£1,127	£30,819
61	Merton	London	95.0%	84.0%	£2,083	£43,507
62	Nuneaton and Bedworth	West Midlands	95.0%	69.8%	£914	£32,402
63	Stockton-on-Tees	North East	95.0%	59.2%	£732	£29,877
64	Sunderland	North East	95.0%	71.6%	£695	£27,989
65	Bradford	Yorkshire and The Humber	94.8%	87.6%	£737	£28,424
66	Hyndburn	North West	94.8%	94.1%	£638	£29,647
67	Islington	London	94.8%	81.1%	£2,763	£47,411
68	Stevenage	East of England	94.8%	63.0%	£1,417	£35,747
69	West Northamptonshire	East Midlands	94.8%	93.8%	£1,070	£33,059
70	Glasgow	Scotland	94.8%	91.5%	£1,276	£32,121
71	Bristol	South West	94.6%	81.4%	£1,888	£34,051
72	Bury	North West	94.6%	93.1%	£965	£31,687
73	Crawley	South East	94.6%	67.5%	£1,475	£34,225
74	North Tyneside	North East	94.6%	83.6%	£830	£31,106
75	Waltham Forest	London	94.6%	86.6%	£1,753	£37,971
76	Plymouth	South West	94.5%	77.0%	£985	£28,992
77	Tamworth	West Midlands	94.5%	66.4%	£966	£33,167
78	Cambridge	East of England	94.4%	88.3%	£1,795	£38,711
79	Watford	East of England	94.4%	84.8%	£1,813	£37,172
80	Newport	Wales	94.4%	87.4%	£953	£31,495
81	St Albans	East of England	94.3%	80.4%	£1,912	£45,543
82	Swindon	South West	94.3%	91.0%	£1,082	£33,135
83	Walsall	West Midlands	94.2%	84.4%	£904	£29,112
84	North Lanarkshire	Scotland	94.1%	65.0%	£812	£34,105
85	Cardiff	Wales	94.1%	85.2%	£1,157	£32,756
86	Salford	North West	94.0%	87.2%	£1,161	£30,495
87	Harlow	East of England	93.9%	16.8%	£1,513	£30,654
88	Kensington and Chelsea	London	93.9%	71.3%	£3,599	£46,690
89	Gloucester	South West	93.8%	54.3%	£1,099	£30,455
90	Rossendale	North West	93.8%	92.8%	£810	£30,487
91	Darlington	North East	93.7%	79.1%	£666	£30,100
92	Gedling	East Midlands	93.7%	79.8%	£891	£30,051
93	Pendle	North West	93.7%	91.5%	£645	£26,742
94	Trafford	North West	93.7%	91.5%	£1,358	£35,593
95	North Lincolnshire	Yorkshire and The Humber	93.6%	93.0%	£631	£30,012
96	Redditch	West Midlands	93.6%	49.4%	£898	£29,113
97	West Dunbartonshire	Scotland	93.6%	43.8%	£934	£31,962
98	Worcester	West Midlands	93.5%	93.5%	£955	£32,997
99	Fylde	North West	93.4%	91.5%	£848	£36,020
100	Newcastle upon Tyne	North East	93.4%	88.9%	£1,206	£30,144
101	Sheffield	Yorkshire and The Humber	93.4%	91.4%	£920	£31,816
102	Hillingdon	London	93.3%	76.9%	£1,549	£36,429
103	Redbridge	London	93.2%	84.3%	£1,720	£37,190
104	West Oxfordshire	South East	93.2%	83.8%	£1,270	£35,388
105	East Dunbartonshire	Scotland	93.2%	76.0%	£1,159	£38,000
106	Bexley	London	93.1%	83.3%	£1,531	£36,883
107	Spelthorne	South East	93.1%	79.8%	£1,633	£37,918
108	Thurrock	East of England	93.0%	83.8%	£1,344	£36,407
109	Wokingham	South East	92.9%	81.9%	£1,479	£43,538
110	Chesterfield	East Midlands	92.8%	90.1%	£735	£30,621
111	Edinburgh	Scotland	92.7%	83.0%	£1,432	£37,380
112	Bolsover	East Midlands	92.6%	87.3%	£692	£29,674
113	Sutton	London	92.6%	77.7%	£1,545	£38,359
114	Cheltenham	South West	92.5%	83.4%	£1,233	£36,014
115	West Lothian	Scotland	92.5%	77.2%	£911	£33,302
116	Bromley	London	92.4%	58.9%	£1,670	£43,981
117	Broxbourne	East of England	92.3%	78.2%	£1,649	£37,283
118	Woking	South East	92.1%	73.7%	£1,615	£38,172
119	Norwich	East of England	92.0%	76.6%	£1,146	£30,421
120	Redcar and Cleveland	North East	92.0%	59.5%	£640	£28,630
121	South Tyneside	North East	92.0%	33.0%	£720	£28,784
122	Blaby	East Midlands	91.9%	90.7%	£977	£31,950
123	Chorley	North West	91.9%	86.9%	£773	£33,337
124	East Riding of Yorkshire	Yorkshire and The Humber	91.9%	91.9%	£709	£31,881
125	Three Rivers	East of England	91.9%	85.1%	£1,807	£39,615
126	Aberdeen	Scotland	91.9%	91.9%	£860	£32,399
127	Blackburn with Darwen	North West	91.8%	86.8%	£707	£27,502
128	Hounslow	London	91.8%	57.6%	£1,907	£35,301
129	Midlothian	Scotland	91.8%	91.8%	£1,432	£31,856
130	Lambeth	London	91.7%	81.1%	£2,525	£43,666
131	Basildon	East of England	91.6%	73.7%	£1,396	£34,133
132	Hackney	London	91.6%	83.3%	£2,598	£40,237
133	Lincoln	East Midlands	91.6%	85.4%	£946	£29,824
134	Medway	South East	91.6%	81.3%	£1,241	£33,857
135	Havering	London	91.5%	84.1%	£1,566	£40,726
136	Newham	London	91.5%	79.7%	£1,912	£36,080
137	Rugby	West Midlands	91.5%	90.8%	£1,028	£41,814
138	Liverpool	North West	91.4%	86.2%	£893	£30,947
139	Braintree	East of England	91.3%	91.3%	£1,227	£34,546
140	Kingston upon Thames	London	91.3%	65.5%	£1,796	£41,833
141	Enfield	London	91.2%	47.4%	£1,770	£34,962
142	Blackpool	North West	91.1%	60.6%	£696	£27,979
143	Wyre	North West	91.0%	90.9%	£717	£29,814
144	Flintshire	Wales	91.0%	91.0%	£778	£32,675
145	Vale of Glamorgan	Wales	91.0%	86.3%	£982	£31,410
146	Ealing	London	90.9%	70.4%	£2,051	£35,665
147	Huntingdonshire	East of England	90.9%	78.2%	£1,045	£33,375
148	York	Yorkshire and The Humber	90.7%	85.9%	£1,173	£32,961
149	Exeter	South West	90.6%	78.8%	£1,312	£29,531
150	Southwark	London	90.6%	81.4%	£2,388	£43,006
151	Gateshead	North East	90.5%	73.3%	£785	£29,494
152	Hammersmith and Fulham	London	90.5%	84.5%	£2,724	£42,811
153	Richmond upon Thames	London	90.4%	65.6%	£2,302	£46,594
154	Swansea	Wales	90.4%	81.9%	£833	£32,091
155	Lancaster	North West	90.3%	88.0%	£802	£29,651
156	Rochdale	North West	90.3%	74.2%	£824	£29,535
157	Amber Valley	East Midlands	90.2%	90.2%	£784	£30,823
158	Bridgend	Wales	90.2%	90.2%	£736	£31,475
159	Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole	South West	90.1%	79.4%	£1,397	£31,848
160	Hertsmere	East of England	90.1%	73.5%	£1,787	£36,159
161	Lewisham	London	90.0%	75.4%	£1,810	£39,505
162	South Derbyshire	East Midlands	90.0%	89.7%	£871	£35,452
163	South Lanarkshire	Scotland	89.9%	63.4%	£884	£34,293
164	Eastleigh	South East	89.8%	65.9%	£1,205	£34,474
165	Haringey	London	89.8%	61.3%	£2,209	£37,563
166	Harrow	London	89.6%	76.3%	£1,754	£36,000
167	Epping Forest	East of England	89.5%	71.5%	£1,826	£38,171
168	Wandsworth	London	89.5%	83.4%	£2,593	£49,310
169	Manchester	North West	89.4%	84.3%	£1,347	£30,067
170	Wyre Forest	West Midlands	89.4%	81.9%	£849	£29,408
171	Torbay	South West	89.3%	84.2%	£899	£28,963
172	North Somerset	South West	89.2%	83.8%	£1,194	£32,996
173	Greenwich	London	88.9%	76.2%	£1,944	£39,984
174	Surrey Heath	South East	88.9%	64.7%	£1,493	£37,793
175	Cherwell	South East	88.8%	78.8%	£1,289	£36,568
176	Caerphilly	Wales	88.8%	88.8%	£736	£30,854
177	Barnsley	Yorkshire and The Humber	88.7%	82.7%	£670	£31,359
178	North East Derbyshire	East Midlands	88.7%	88.7%	£775	£30,931
179	Cheshire West and Chester	North West	88.5%	87.8%	£959	£32,391
180	Fenland	East of England	88.4%	83.4%	£830	£30,125
181	Reigate and Banstead	South East	88.4%	74.6%	£1,628	£40,014
182	Croydon	London	88.2%	56.9%	£1,560	£38,080
183	Telford and Wrekin	West Midlands	88.2%	46.7%	£850	£31,459
184	Welwyn Hatfield	East of England	88.2%	60.9%	£1,468	£37,805
185	North West Leicestershire	East Midlands	87.8%	68.1%	£899	£32,252
186	Preston	North West	87.8%	70.3%	£778	£30,038
187	West Berkshire	South East	87.5%	77.3%	£1,273	£38,513
188	Eastbourne	South East	87.4%	87.4%	£1,160	£31,199
189	Tewkesbury	South West	87.3%	68.0%	£983	£31,603
190	Isle of Wight	South East	87.1%	87.1%	£940	£26,740
191	East Lothian	Scotland	87.1%	87.1%	£1,432	£33,737
192	Vale of White Horse	South East	86.9%	66.3%	£1,332	£38,859
193	Clackmannanshire	Scotland	86.9%	86.9%	£900	£31,992
194	Chelmsford	East of England	86.8%	79.4%	£1,442	£35,791
195	Hart	South East	86.7%	73.4%	£1,406	£39,341
196	Westminster	London	86.6%	85.1%	£3,122	£45,172
197	Dacorum	East of England	86.4%	63.6%	£1,577	£36,473
198	Conwy	Wales	86.4%	86.4%	£776	£28,113
199	Tower Hamlets	London	86.3%	80.7%	£2,396	£45,183
200	North Hertfordshire	East of England	86.2%	69.8%	£1,408	£42,703
201	South Gloucestershire	South West	86.2%	59.1%	£1,445	£35,002
202	Elmbridge	South East	86.1%	66.2%	£1,832	£42,607
203	Torfaen	Wales	86.1%	77.1%	£853	£33,201
204	Bedford	East of England	86.0%	70.4%	£1,163	£35,987
205	Bromsgrove	West Midlands	85.9%	80.2%	£977	£36,409
206	Windsor and Maidenhead	South East	85.9%	77.1%	£1,809	£37,653
207	Great Yarmouth	East of England	85.7%	80.2%	£816	£28,808
208	Runnymede	South East	85.7%	76.5%	£1,567	£42,203
209	Brighton and Hove	South East	85.4%	58.9%	£1,826	£33,506
210	Tonbridge and Malling	South East	85.4%	76.4%	£1,467	£35,106
211	Brent	London	85.3%	74.3%	£1,969	£34,871
212	South Cambridgeshire	East of England	85.2%	58.3%	£1,399	£42,690
213	Stratford-on-Avon	West Midlands	85.2%	81.7%	£1,120	£34,847
214	Charnwood	East Midlands	85.1%	75.1%	£949	£33,550
215	East Cambridgeshire	East of England	85.1%	78.3%	£1,016	£34,311
216	Brentwood	East of England	84.8%	84.8%	£1,605	£39,864
217	Ribble Valley	North West	84.7%	84.6%	£803	£34,077
218	Stafford	West Midlands	84.6%	72.2%	£882	£33,872
219	County Durham	North East	84.3%	82.9%	£632	£29,718
220	Warwick	West Midlands	84.3%	44.2%	£1,237	£39,797
221	East Hertfordshire	East of England	84.2%	67.9%	£1,504	£44,154
222	South Ribble	North West	84.1%	73.8%	£787	£32,740
223	Cheshire East	North West	84.0%	77.7%	£972	£33,221
224	Herefordshire	West Midlands	84.0%	84.0%	£815	£29,361
225	Central Bedfordshire	East of England	83.8%	68.3%	£1,238	£36,622
226	Dartford	South East	83.7%	64.8%	£1,556	£36,210
227	Newark and Sherwood	East Midlands	83.6%	78.8%	£787	£29,806
228	Lichfield	West Midlands	83.5%	71.5%	£1,091	£33,763
229	Gravesham	South East	83.4%	72.8%	£1,319	£35,065
230	Newcastle-under-Lyme	West Midlands	83.4%	71.7%	£824	£31,205
231	South Staffordshire	West Midlands	83.4%	83.4%	£942	£31,766
232	Colchester	East of England	83.3%	62.6%	£1,216	£31,589
233	East Suffolk	East of England	83.3%	82.5%	£831	£30,261
234	Neath Port Talbot	Wales	83.3%	74.6%	£668	£30,709
235	North Kesteven	East Midlands	83.1%	68.7%	£857	£30,585
236	Uttlesford	East of England	83.1%	68.3%	£1,285	£41,006
237	Fife	Scotland	83.0%	69.2%	£812	£32,445
238	Maldon	East of England	82.5%	82.5%	£1,151	£32,599
239	South Kesteven	East Midlands	82.4%	73.4%	£835	£29,071
240	Swale	South East	82.1%	76.0%	£1,104	£33,647
241	Basingstoke and Deane	South East	81.8%	69.0%	£1,324	£39,279
242	Northumberland	North East	81.8%	81.6%	£664	£30,456
243	South Oxfordshire	South East	81.7%	68.0%	£1,377	£43,026
244	Mid Sussex	South East	81.5%	81.5%	£1,405	£37,705
245	Rushcliffe	East Midlands	81.5%	60.8%	£1,031	£36,705
246	Sefton	North West	81.4%	75.4%	£919	£29,335
247	Castle Point	East of England	81.2%	68.8%	£1,231	£35,975
248	South Ayrshire	Scotland	81.2%	68.6%	£663	£33,986
249	North Ayrshire	Scotland	81.1%	73.9%	£663	£34,689
250	Guildford	South East	81.0%	64.3%	£1,698	£39,985
251	West Lancashire	North West	81.0%	81.0%	£794	£31,884
252	Buckinghamshire	South East	80.9%	72.7%	£1,467	£35,937
253	Maidstone	South East	80.9%	72.2%	£1,282	£34,151
254	Tunbridge Wells	South East	80.9%	75.5%	£1,501	£35,319
255	Hinckley and Bosworth	East Midlands	80.8%	66.1%	£920	£31,591
256	Inverclyde	Scotland	80.8%	49.6%	£826	£29,020
257	Thanet	South East	80.6%	80.6%	£1,107	£28,323
258	Craven	England	80.5%	80.2%	N/A	N/A
259	Hambleton	England	80.5%	80.2%	N/A	N/A
260	Harborough	East Midlands	80.5%	77.0%	£960	£34,321
261	Harrogate	England	80.5%	80.2%	N/A	N/A
262	North Yorkshire	Yorkshire and The Humber	80.5%	80.2%	£831	£30,683
263	Richmondshire	England	80.5%	80.2%	N/A	N/A
264	Ryedale	England	80.5%	80.2%	N/A	N/A
265	Scarborough	England	80.5%	80.2%	N/A	N/A
266	Selby	England	80.5%	80.2%	N/A	N/A
267	Calderdale	Yorkshire and The Humber	80.3%	77.0%	£741	£31,708
268	Melton	East Midlands	80.3%	65.1%	£790	£26,633
269	Rochford	East of England	80.3%	80.3%	£1,285	£38,107
270	Dover	South East	80.1%	73.1%	£962	£33,704
271	High Peak	East Midlands	80.1%	80.1%	£900	£32,258
272	City of London	London	80.0%	79.5%	N/A	N/A
273	Oxford	South East	79.9%	40.1%	£1,952	£36,517
274	Denbighshire	Wales	79.8%	79.8%	£701	£26,812
275	East Ayrshire	Scotland	79.5%	76.7%	£663	£33,117
276	Bath and North East Somerset	South West	79.4%	72.0%	£1,876	£32,481
277	Barrow-in-Furness	England	79.2%	79.2%	N/A	N/A
278	Boston	East Midlands	79.2%	79.2%	£793	£27,729
279	Eden	England	79.2%	79.2%	N/A	N/A
280	Forest of Dean	South West	79.2%	79.2%	£820	£36,589
281	South Lakeland	England	79.2%	79.2%	N/A	N/A
282	Westmorland and Furness	North West	79.2%	79.2%	£797	£33,988
283	East Staffordshire	West Midlands	79.1%	77.9%	£833	£31,517
284	Wychavon	West Midlands	79.1%	79.0%	£925	£29,661
285	Wrexham	Wales	79.0%	79.0%	£759	£29,752
286	Mole Valley	South East	78.9%	60.6%	£1,545	£35,341
287	Stroud	South West	78.9%	78.0%	£1,036	£33,495
288	Rhondda Cynon Taf	Wales	78.9%	75.2%	£744	£29,802
289	Barnet	London	78.6%	68.2%	£1,928	£39,239
290	Merthyr Tydfil	Wales	78.4%	78.4%	£753	£31,504
291	Monmouthshire	Wales	78.1%	78.1%	£987	£35,020
292	Bassetlaw	East Midlands	77.9%	74.3%	£716	£28,314
293	Folkestone and Hythe	South East	77.6%	71.8%	£1,132	£33,355
294	Rutland	East Midlands	77.6%	77.6%	£968	£39,559
295	Test Valley	South East	77.4%	55.2%	£1,203	£35,314
296	Tendring	East of England	77.2%	77.2%	£1,048	£29,545
297	Teignbridge	South West	77.1%	75.8%	£944	£28,911
298	Horsham	South East	76.4%	76.4%	£1,444	£36,448
299	Stirling	Scotland	76.2%	76.2%	£900	£33,832
300	West Suffolk	East of England	76.1%	72.9%	£1,176	£33,437
301	Hastings	South East	75.9%	75.9%	£1,008	£29,323
302	Sevenoaks	South East	75.8%	64.8%	£1,781	£34,969
303	South Holland	East Midlands	75.7%	75.7%	£759	£30,196
304	Wiltshire	South West	75.7%	67.4%	£1,056	£31,873
305	Ashford	South East	75.3%	68.5%	£1,239	£32,991
306	East Devon	South West	75.2%	75.1%	£953	£32,154
307	Arun	South East	75.1%	75.1%	£1,217	£29,809
308	Allerdale	England	74.7%	73.1%	N/A	N/A
309	Carlisle	England	74.7%	73.1%	N/A	N/A
310	Copeland	England	74.7%	73.1%	N/A	N/A
311	Cumberland	North West	74.7%	73.1%	£659	£33,840
312	Mendip	England	74.5%	73.5%	N/A	N/A
313	Sedgemoor	England	74.5%	73.5%	N/A	N/A
314	Somerset	South West	74.5%	73.5%	£980	£29,908
315	Somerset West and Taunton	England	74.5%	73.5%	N/A	N/A
316	South Somerset	England	74.5%	73.5%	N/A	N/A
317	Broadland	East of England	74.0%	69.2%	£934	£30,920
318	New Forest	South East	74.0%	71.8%	£1,234	£31,344
319	Shropshire	West Midlands	73.6%	72.7%	£803	£29,603
320	East Hampshire	South East	73.5%	60.6%	£1,252	£39,682
321	Canterbury	South East	73.4%	73.4%	£1,260	£30,188
322	Staffordshire Moorlands	West Midlands	72.8%	64.7%	£718	£31,065
323	Dorset	South West	72.3%	70.9%	£1,037	£31,444
324	Babergh	East of England	72.1%	72.1%	£969	£30,118
325	Malvern Hills	West Midlands	71.9%	71.9%	£938	£28,167
326	Lewes	South East	71.4%	71.4%	£1,320	£33,088
327	Rother	South East	71.0%	71.0%	£1,162	£30,790
328	Blaenau Gwent	Wales	71.0%	71.0%	£668	£30,734
329	Tandridge	South East	70.6%	53.5%	£1,596	£33,316
330	Waverley	South East	70.5%	67.4%	£1,431	£42,326
331	North Warwickshire	West Midlands	70.4%	58.1%	£972	£35,067
332	Carmarthenshire	Wales	69.2%	69.2%	£668	£30,774
333	South Norfolk	East of England	69.0%	68.2%	£969	£32,934
334	Wealden	South East	68.6%	68.6%	£1,259	£33,376
335	Scottish Borders	Scotland	68.6%	68.6%	£707	£28,796
336	Chichester	South East	67.3%	67.3%	£1,319	£28,585
337	West Lindsey	East Midlands	67.2%	63.1%	£711	£30,741
338	Pembrokeshire	Wales	66.3%	66.3%	£687	£27,243
339	North Devon	South West	66.2%	66.2%	£859	£28,386
340	Breckland	East of England	66.1%	66.1%	£909	£28,930
341	Cotswold	South West	65.9%	65.9%	£1,263	£32,927
342	Winchester	South East	64.4%	45.6%	£1,498	£38,352
343	Cornwall	South West	64.3%	62.7%	£1,004	£28,210
344	Gwynedd	Wales	63.6%	63.6%	£685	£25,179
345	Torridge	South West	63.2%	63.2%	£788	£28,752
346	Highland	Scotland	62.1%	62.1%	£723	£31,416
347	King's Lynn and West Norfolk	East of England	62.0%	62.0%	£930	£30,581
348	East Lindsey	East Midlands	61.4%	55.4%	£678	£26,705
349	West Devon	South West	60.8%	60.8%	£837	£26,556
350	Moray	Scotland	60.5%	60.5%	£860	£26,943
351	Mid Devon	South West	59.9%	59.9%	£869	£31,908
352	Angus	Scotland	59.6%	50.7%	£834	£30,681
353	Derbyshire Dales	East Midlands	59.2%	59.2%	£797	£33,700
354	South Hams	South West	58.5%	58.4%	£996	£29,721
355	Powys	Wales	58.5%	58.5%	£621	£30,275
356	Mid Suffolk	East of England	58.2%	58.2%	£973	£31,507
357	Isle of Anglesey	Wales	56.6%	56.6%	£710	£29,944
358	Perth and Kinross	Scotland	53.9%	34.1%	£753	£31,851
359	Dumfries and Galloway	Scotland	53.6%	53.6%	£554	£29,649
360	Ceredigion	Wales	51.0%	51.0%	£710	£29,326
361	Isles of Scilly	South West	50.9%	50.9%	N/A	N/A
362	North Norfolk	East of England	50.7%	50.7%	£856	£28,421
363	Aberdeenshire	Scotland	43.9%	43.9%	£860	£33,799
364	Orkney Islands	Scotland	25.4%	25.4%	£723	£31,737
365	Argyll and Bute	Scotland	21.8%	21.8%	£851	£30,436
366	Shetland Islands	Scotland	17.7%	17.7%	£723	£35,716
367	Na h-Eileanan Siar	Scotland	9.6%	9.6%	£723	£28,746

Where in the UK has the best broadband coverage?

Hull tops the list at 99.8% gigabit-capable coverage, meaning almost every home in the city can now order a 1 Gbit/s connection. That is unusual for a UK city of its size and owes a lot to KCOM, the local incumbent that rolled out full fibre citywide years ahead of BT Openreach.

The rest of the top 10 is a mix of dense urban authorities and postwar new towns: Southend-on-Sea, Wolverhampton, Gosport, Knowsley, Derby, Fareham, Middlesbrough. The absolute spread is tight, with all ten sitting between 97.7% and 99.8%.

No single region dominates. The list draws from every English region except London itself, which sits a step down at 90.5% coverage across the borough aggregate. "Best broadband" can mean different things depending on which measure matters to you: gigabit-capable connections, fibre-to-the-premises specifically, or simply the ability to get a decent connection at all. This ranking uses gigabit-capable coverage because it captures the fastest tier that is now widely available.

Full fibre vs gigabit: what's the difference?

Full fibre (technically FTTP, fibre-to-the-premises) means a continuous strand of fibre optic cable runs all the way to your home. It is the fastest and most reliable domestic connection type in the UK, with speeds typically ranging from 100 Mbit/s at the entry tier to 2 Gbit/s or higher.

Gigabit-capable is a broader category. It includes full fibre, but also cable networks (like Virgin Media's coaxial and hybrid-fibre) that carry gigabit speeds without being pure fibre. Both can deliver 1 Gbit/s connections; the differences are mostly around upload speeds, latency, and how the network scales when your street is busy.

The gap between the two matters when you read the table. Middlesbrough in the top 10 sits at 97.7% gigabit-capable but only 61.7% full fibre, a gap of roughly 36 percentage points. Almost every gigabit connection there runs on cable rather than FTTP. Sorting the table by full fibre reshuffles the ranking noticeably in areas with heavy cable presence.

Broadband coverage across the UK's nations

Coverage varies meaningfully across Great Britain. Across 313 English local authorities, gigabit-capable coverage averages 86.2%, with full fibre at 77.0%. Wales sits at 78.5% gigabit and 76.2% full fibre across 22 authorities. Scotland averages 73.4% gigabit and 64.1% full fibre across 32 authorities.

Scotland's average is pulled down by the islands and the Highlands. Coverage in and around Glasgow and Edinburgh is competitive with the English average, but the six least-connected authorities in the UK are all Scottish. Wales has a much tighter gap between its gigabit and full fibre figures than the other two nations, which reflects a rollout led mostly by Openreach fibre rather than cable.

LiveWhere covers Great Britain only, so Northern Ireland is not in this ranking. Ofcom publishes NI coverage separately in the same release if you need it.

How does broadband coverage affect where people live?

For anyone working from home, broadband coverage is now as important as transport links used to be. A Zoom-heavy job needs a stable upstream, which in practice means full fibre or a good cable connection.

The trade-off with cost is worth keeping in mind. Areas with the strongest coverage tend to sit in denser urban parts of the country where housing costs are higher; the six biggest cities (Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Glasgow, Cardiff, Edinburgh) average 93.7% gigabit coverage. Some rural and coastal areas that offer lower rents also sit lower in the broadband ranking, which is a real factor for remote workers weighing an area purely on cost.

For the fuller picture, the affordability map shows how far the local salary stretches, and each area profile pairs the cost data with its Ofcom broadband figures side by side.

How to check broadband coverage in your area

Every LiveWhere area profile shows the Ofcom coverage figures for that local authority: gigabit-capable, full fibre, superfast and the share of premises unable to receive decent broadband. Try Cardiff, Edinburgh, or Cornwall for a sense of how the picture varies between urban, capital-city and rural areas.

For an address-level check, Ofcom runs its own coverage checker that queries the same underlying data at a specific postcode or full address. That is more precise than any local-authority figure and is the right tool when you're comparing individual houses or streets.

One thing to keep in mind: coverage shows what is available in the area, not the actual speed you will get. Real-world speeds also depend on the package you buy, the provider, in-home wiring and Wi-Fi setup. If broadband speed is a deal-breaker for a move, run a speed test at the specific property before signing.

Data and methodology

All figures come from Ofcom Connected Nations 2025, based on the July 2025 data return from UK broadband providers. "Gigabit-capable" is the percentage of residential premises where an active connection of 1 Gbit/s or faster is available; "full fibre" is the subset delivered via fibre-to-the-premises. Coverage shows what can be ordered at the premises, not the speed households actually receive, which depends on their chosen package. The ranking includes 367 UK local authorities where Ofcom publishes coverage data at authority level.

Key findings

Hull has the highest gigabit-capable coverage in the UK at 99.8% of premises.
Every one of the top 10 areas sits above 97% gigabit coverage.
The average gigabit-capable coverage across all 367 ranked areas is 84.6%.
Superfast (30+ Mbit/s) coverage is now near-universal. Every one of the top 10 areas exceeds 99% superfast coverage.

Methodology

Coverage figures come from Ofcom Connected Nations, July 2025 release. "Gigabit-capable" is the percentage of residential premises where a connection of 1 Gbit/s or faster is available (typically full fibre or upgraded cable). "Full fibre" is the percentage where fibre-to-the-premises specifically is available. Availability is not the same as take-up: a premises counts as covered even if the occupier is on a slower package. The ranking covers 367 UK local authorities where Ofcom publishes coverage data.

Read more about our data sources and approach on the About page.

Frequently asked questions about broadband coverage

Which UK area has the best broadband?

What does 'gigabit-capable' mean?

Is coverage the same as take-up?

How is broadband coverage measured?

Use this research

Journalists, researchers and bloggers are welcome to cite and share this analysis. Please include a follow link back to this page when referencing our data. For bespoke analysis, expert comment, or high-resolution graphics, get in touch via our press office.

Data on this page is sourced from: ONS Price Index of Private Rents (PIPR), Scottish Government Private Sector Rent Statistics, ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, ONS / HM Land Registry House Price Statistics, and MHCLG / Scottish Government / Welsh Government council tax data. All data is published under the Open Government Licence.