Openreach expands latest broadband plans to over 500 locations across the UK

BT's Openreach - bringing speedy broadband to the masses
BT's Openreach - bringing speedy broadband to the masses (Image credit: Openreach)
Key announcements

- 517 new locations covered across the UK 

- 2.7 million additional homes and businesses covered

- £15 billion invested by Openreach

- On target to reach 25 million premises by 2026

Building upon their continued rollout of Full Fibre across the UK, Openreach has rolled out coverage to an additional 517 locations. As better and faster connections become more widely available across the world, the continued rollout brings more reliable connections to an increasingly growing userbase in the UK. With 14 million homes now covered, this brings Openreach closer to the commitment of reaching 25 million homes and businesses by the end of 2026. 

Man deploying fibre in manhole in Hythe

Openreach engineer deploying full-fibre in manhole in Hythe (Image credit: Openreach)

As part of the overall £15 billion project, the new locations include Tobermory in Scotland; Haworth in West Yorkshire; Saundersfoot in South Wales; Pinxton in Derbyshire, Harlow in Essex; Southampton in Hampshire; and Roborough in Devon. This brings Full Fibre connections to over 400,000 new locations in rural areas.

Openreach CEO, Clive Selley, notes: “This is a UK infrastructure success story. We’re on track and on-budget to make this life-changing broadband technology available to 25 million homes and businesses, and no company is building faster or further in Europe, that we’re aware of.

“We won’t be stopping there either. We plan to build right across the UK, from cities and towns to far-flung farms and island communities. Ultimately, we’ll reach as many as 30 million premises by the end of the decade if there’s a supportive political and regulatory environment."

To 2026 and beyond

The Openreach rollout continues adding more than 78k premises each week, meaning if Full Fibre isn't yet available to you, it very well could be soon. There's also an online map as well as a postcode checker so you can always stay in the know about the network expansion and progress through 2026.

The map shows all of the current coverage to date so you can easily see how the process is moving. Using the postcode checker will allow you to view a location specific to you for the most personalized connectivity status for your home or business.

Over 700 broadband providers use the Openreach network across the UK, including BT, EE, Sky, Vodafone, and TalkTalk. Each network still has its own broadband deals and broadband and TV deals, making it important to shop around before committing to a new deal.

Adam Zeis
Editorial Director - High Yield

Adam is the Editorial Director of High-Yield content at Future. Leading an outstanding team, he oversees many articles the publisher produces about subscriptions and services including VPN, TV streaming, and broadband. In addition to identifying new e-commerce opportunities, he has produced extensive buying guides, how-to-watch content, deal news, and in-depth reviews. Adam's work can be seen on numerous Future brands including TechRadar, Tom's Guide, T3, TTR, Android Central, iMore, Windows Central, and Real Homes.