The UK’s broadband sector has quietly witnessed a tipping point as fibre-based connections direct to premises superseded curb-side connectivity for the first time, according to analyst Point Topic, while two of the country’s leading independent broadband service providers (altnets) have geared up fibre offerings for businesses.
The Point Topic survey found that the UK broadband market overall regained momentum in the third quarter of 2025, adding 64,000 subscribers and returning to growth across a total base of 28.94 million lines. Most significantly, full-fibre (FTTP) adoption surged ahead at its fastest rate since nationwide roll-outs began, reaching 11.56 million connections and overtaking fibre to the curb (FTTC) for the first time, with the latter decreasing to 10.6 million.
Full-fibre coverage climbed to 79.5% of premises, with multi-network overbuild increasing sharply, and the analyst expects FTTP take-up, while strong, to stabilise over the next year as the early-mover surge eases. BT’s broadband provision division Openreach has expanded to 20.31 million premises and added 551,000 FTTP customers, while the BT Consumer division delivered a second consecutive quarter of growth.
Openreach saw its FTTP subscriber base rise to 7.65 million, while the Consumer division saw growth again for the second consecutive quarter, with 1,000 net broadband additions to reach 8.21 million. This figure excluded its Business segment, which had an estimated 576,000 connections.
Altnets were found to have collectively added 193,000 connections, lifting their FTTP base to 3.02 million, with leading altnet CityFibre posting what Point Topic called a “standout” 108,000 net adds as its Sky partnership went fully live, bringing its total base to 730,000.
Yet with FTTP now mainstream and competition intensifying, Point Topic warned that altnet pricing and operational models are facing increasing pressure, raising questions about how many can remain sustainable as take-up normalises and overlap with larger networks grows.
This dynamic notwithstanding, ITS and Zen Internet were switching on full-fibre networks for their respective growing customer bases.
Dedicated business full-fibre provider ITS has now rolled out its XGS-PON-enabled network across Newcastle upon Tyne and Glasgow, with connectivity services now live in both cities.
Glasgow marks the company’s first expansion into Scotland, with the network now ready for service for more than 7,000 business premises. Organisations across the city – spanning sectors including financial services, digital industries, life sciences and the creative sector – can access gigabit-capable connectivity, with coverage extending to key hubs such as the International Financial Services District, the Glasgow Riverside Innovation District and Merchant City.
In Newcastle, the network reaches over 4,000 business premises. It said the city has a higher-than-average concentration of large employers and a growing base of organisations in health, education and technology sectors, increasing demand for scalable, high-capacity services. Newcastle is home to hubs including Newcastle Helix, the National Innovation Centre for Data, and the Digital Quarter.
Meanwhile, Zen Internet has strengthened its direct business offering, claiming to be giving organisations across the UK more choice and greater coverage when it comes to the connectivity solutions available to them.
Explaining its actions, the provider cited a survey it carried out in 2024, which found that 44% of businesses didn’t yet have a solution in place ahead of the ISDN switch-off and that 30% were still using ISDN despite the upcoming withdrawal of services, highlighting a clear readiness gap.
To address this issue, the launches include CityFibre’s Ethernet and FTTP Business products, as well as BT’s SoTAP (Single Order Temporary Access Product). The result, said Zen, was “a future-proof”, all-IP solution for businesses still on ADSL that are not yet in full-fibre or FTTC footprints. The expansion of its Business FTTP offering also builds on Zen and CityFibre’s long-standing partnership and comes as demand for business-grade fibre connectivity accelerates across the UK. CityFibre’s enterprise-grade Ethernet and FTTP services are now available to more than 260,000 UK businesses through Zen.
