Openreach at 20: Britain’s booming broadband revolution shows no sign of slowing down

As Openreach celebrates its 20th birthday (11 January), the nation’s internet habits have hit new heights – streaming, working, gaming and living online like never before.

For the first time, Openreach’s Full Fibre network is carrying more data than old-school copper and hybrid fibre technologies, with millions making the switch to the UK’s most reliable broadband technology.

Broadband Boom: The Numbers That’ll Blow Your Mind

• Broadband usage over Openreach’s national network soared by 4.8% in 2025, smashing through 108,599 Petabytes of data in total - enough to stream more than 10 million hours of HD telly - every single day
• Meanwhile December was a record-breaker, with 10,317 Petabytes gobbled up by Brits on devices. This came immediately after the single busiest day of 2025 on 30 November as a massive Fortnite update was released to gamers.
• At the same time Full Fibre usage exploded by 40% last year, overtaking older fixed broadband technologies in late October. The average Full Fibre customer – and more people are upgrading to Full Fibre every day - now chews through 22.1GB a day on average – that’s equivalent to taking part in 40 hours of Zoom or Teams calls.

From Dial-Up to Digital Revolution

The latest network numbers reflect just how far the UK’s digital habits have come over two decades with growing demand for fast, reliable connections.

When Openreach was formed in 2006, the UK was moving from dial-up to 8Mbps broadband. Nokia and BlackBerry ruled the mobile device world and DVDs were mainstream. Streaming was in its infancy.

Social media meant MySpace and Bebo, the Crazy Frog ringtone was everywhere, and the Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3 were the latest gaming consoles.

Today, around eight million homes and businesses use Openreach Full Fibre, with 21 million premises able to connect - powering everything from remote work and streaming to gaming and smart homes.

Clive Selley, CEO of Openreach, said: “As we celebrate 20 years of Openreach, this is a historic moment for UK broadband. In two decades, we’ve gone from dial-up speeds to building the nation’s digital backbone - and today, Full Fibre is the network of choice for millions.

“People are upgrading for speed they can rely on, connections that don’t drop out, and the capacity to support everything from remote work to smart homes.

“This progress is thanks to our engineers - past and present - whose skill, dedication, and problem solving have connected communities in every corner of the UK. Their work has brought the benefits of better broadband to homes and businesses, and this milestone shows how far we’ve come and how ready we are for the future.

“Whether you’re streaming, gaming, or running a business from home, Full Fibre gives you the performance you need, not just for today but for whatever comes next. My message to everyone is simple: upgrade to Openreach Full Fibre.”

Openreach engineers are connecting around one million premises every three months, aiming for 25 million by the end of 2026 and 30 million by 2030, subject to the right regulatory conditions.

To check availability at your address, visit the Openreach Fibre Checker.

Background

Openreach’s 20 year anniversary

• Openreach was formed in January 2006; the 20-year anniversary is 11 January 2026.

Some key dates:

•       2006:The creation of Openreach and open market - to make sure all communications providers could access its network fairly.

•       2006: ADSL (not VDSL) still predominantly used.  Up to 8Mbps ADSL, then Up to 24Mbps ADSL2+

•       2008: First FTTP deployment in Kent; major investment announced.

•       2009: Trials of Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) began. Up to 40Mbps VDSL2

•       2011: 5 million premises able to order fibre to the cabinet broadband. Up to 80Mbps VDSL2 from 2012 - BT Makes its 80Mbps Superfast FTTC Broadband Upgrade Available to ISPs - ISPreview UK

•       2017: Openreach became a wholly owned subsidiary of BT and legally separate company, with its own staff, management, purpose and strategy.

•       2017: Openreach announces Fibre First investment. Up to 330Mbps GPON

•       2019: Openreach launch 500Mbps and 1Gbps – GPON Openreach Prices New UK Consumer 550Mbps and 1Gbps FTTP Tiers - ISPreview UK

•       2020: Openreach completes first Full Fibre city (Salisbury).

•       2024: Openreach launch 1.8Gbps – GPON Openreach Confirm UK Launch of 1.8Gbps and 1.2Gbps FTTP Tiers UPDATE - ISPreview UK

•       2025: Openreach hits 20 million milestone footprint for full fibre

•       2026: 25 million milestone

What’s a Petabyte?

Think of data in everyday terms:

• 1 Petabyte (PB) = 1,000 Terabytes = 1,000,000 Gigabytes
• That’s enough to stream over 10 million hours of HD video

So, when we say the UK used 108,599 PB of broadband data last year, we’re talking about tens of billions of hours of online activity — streaming, gaming, working from home, smart home tech, and more.

Data highlights from 2025

• UK broadband usage: 2024 (103,590 PB) vs 2025 (108,599 PB) → +4.8%
• Full Fibre usage: +40% in 2025 compared to 2024
• Busiest month: December 2025 at 10,317 PB
• Busiest day: Sunday 30 November 2025 at 388 PB; other peaks on 1 November and 2 November – all a result of Fortnite releases and patches. Sundays are typically the highest-usage day of the week

Peak daily hours: 8pm–10pm;