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Openreach announced on 24 September 2025 that 20 million UK homes and businesses could access its Full Fibre network. That counted premises the network could serve—not 20 million active customers. Openreach’s current Full Fibre page reports a footprint of over 23 million homes and businesses, while its stated target is 25 million by December 2026.
What Openreach’s 20-million milestone counted
The announcement described 20 million homes and businesses as able to access Openreach Full Fibre. It did not say that all of those premises had ordered a service. At the time, Openreach said around 38% of households able to order Full Fibre from its network had switched. The remaining eligible households had not switched then; the figure is not a current take-up rate.
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Openreach also said it was reaching more than one million new homes every three months at the time of the announcement. The company described its cables as reaching places across the UK, from Fair Isle in Scotland to Devon and Cornwall. These are company-reported figures and descriptions. Openreach’s 24 September 2025 announcement has the milestone details.
How the later coverage figures compare
Openreach’s live Full Fibre page, accessed 28 September 2026, says over 23 million homes and businesses can get service, advertises download speeds from 40 Mbps to 1.6 Gbps, and gives a target of 25 million premises by December 2026. Separately, BT Group’s quarterly results page reports a 23.4-million FTTP footprint, 9.4 million premises connected and 40% take-up, describing the build as on track for 25 million by December 2026. The two sets of figures come from different company pages and reporting contexts; they should not be treated as a fully like-for-like time series or as independent measurements.
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Openreach has also described an ambition to reach up to 30 million premises by the end of the decade, conditional on supportive economic and regulatory conditions. That is an ambition, not a guaranteed delivery commitment. Its Full Fibre page and BT Group quarterly results set out the later figures.
What Full Fibre is—and who provides your broadband
Openreach describes Full Fibre as FTTP: fibre-optic cable runs from an exchange directly to a home or business. Openreach builds and maintains this wholesale network. A retail broadband provider uses the network to sell a package, setting its price, contract terms, advertised speed and customer support. Reaching the network does not automatically make a particular package available or place an order for you.
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How to check whether your home or business can order it
- Use the Openreach Full Fibre page and its Fibre Checker to check your exact address. Availability elsewhere in your exchange area does not confirm that your individual property can order service.
- If the checker shows Full Fibre is available, contact a retail broadband provider to see which packages it offers at your address and to place an order. Openreach says upgrades do not usually happen automatically.
- Compare the available offers by exact-address availability, monthly price, contract terms, advertised speed and provider support. The coverage milestone does not identify a best provider or compare current tariffs.
Why rollout timing varies by property
Openreach’s rollout map shows coverage and plans at exchange-area level, while its Fibre Checker is the address-level check. The company says build decisions can depend on cost, operational complexity, potential demand, local-authority support and access to multi-dwelling buildings such as apartment blocks. Some properties may be too complex for a commercial build and could depend on another programme or public funding; plans and dates can change. See Openreach’s rollout map and build information for area plans, but use the checker for a specific property.
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How this fits with government broadband goals
The 20-million announcement is an Openreach network milestone, not a measure of UK-wide gigabit coverage. In a response published the same day, the UK Government described a 99% gigabit-access commitment and attributed £1.9 billion for Building Digital UK to the Chancellor’s spending review. Telecoms Minister Liz Lloyd also described a government ambition for 99% gigabit coverage by 2032. Those government ambitions are distinct from Openreach’s company-specific target of 25 million premises by December 2026. The Government’s response is published with Openreach’s announcement of the Chancellor’s welcome.
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What the milestone means for you
The practical question is whether Full Fibre is orderable at your exact address. The 20-million figure marked the size of Openreach’s available footprint in September 2025; later company reporting put the footprint above 23 million. Neither a national milestone nor an exchange-area plan confirms service at an individual home or business. Check the address, then ask a provider about the package and installation available there.
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