// chrome telecom research

Switch-off Britain

On 31 January 2027 the copper telephone network is switched off for good. We joined Ofcom’s coverage data to every UK council and built-up area (32.5 million premises) to find who has already moved to fibre, and who is about to run out of road.

Fibre arrived. Most of Britain stayed put.

The build-out is close to finished. In the median UK council, full fibre now passes 81% of premises. Coverage is no longer the interesting question.

Take-up is. Of the premises that can get full fibre, the share that actually ordered it ranges from 19% to 78% depending on which council you live in — a spread far wider than anything left in the coverage figures. The copper is being switched off on a fixed date whether or not those lines have moved.

Kensington and Chelsea has near-universal fibre availability and the lowest take-up in the United Kingdom. Hull, wired decades before anyone else, has the highest.

361
UK councils, every one of them
32.49m
premises in the Ofcom data
19–78%
spread in full-fibre take-up
581
towns still below 50% gigabit
361 councils
1Kingston upon Hull, City of Yorkshire & Humber 131,287 99.6% 78%
2Ards and North Down Northern Ireland 79,920 95.7% 75%
3Mid and East Antrim Northern Ireland 66,726 95.2% 74%
4Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Northern Ireland 97,766 92.9% 73%
5Milton Keynes South East 133,693 96.4% 72%
6Newry, Mourne and Down Northern Ireland 79,261 95.1% 72%
7Causeway Coast and Glens Northern Ireland 71,646 93.6% 71%
8Flintshire Wales 76,379 90.8% 71%
9Midlothian Scotland 47,006 92.5% 70%
10East Suffolk East of England 130,344 84.7% 68%
11Fylde North West 38,853 92.8% 68%
12Mid Sussex South East 73,509 82.5% 68%
13Antrim and Newtownabbey Northern Ireland 66,802 96.7% 67%
14Denbighshire Wales 51,085 81.8% 67%
15Ribble Valley North West 32,358 86.5% 67%
16Clackmannanshire Scotland 26,782 86.2% 66%
17Worcester West Midlands 49,864 93.4% 66%
18Maldon East of England 32,172 82.2% 65%
19Conwy Wales 60,358 88.3% 64%
20Derry City and Strabane Northern Ireland 69,311 94.5% 64%
21Lisburn and Castlereagh Northern Ireland 67,906 95.4% 64%
22Malvern Hills West Midlands 40,643 71.7% 64%
23Merthyr Tydfil Wales 28,884 79.1% 64%
24Moray Scotland 51,564 64.1% 64%
25South Gloucestershire South West 137,521 67% 64%
26Swale South East 68,734 74.3% 64%
27Wyre North West 59,514 92.4% 64%
28Caerphilly Wales 84,772 89.7% 63%
29Cheshire West and Chester North West 176,089 87.8% 63%
30Fermanagh and Omagh Northern Ireland 55,383 90.9% 63%
31Bromsgrove West Midlands 45,875 80.3% 62%
32East Devon South West 79,343 75.2% 62%
33Mid Ulster Northern Ireland 63,313 94.4% 62%
34Aberdeenshire Scotland 131,027 48.5% 61%
35Breckland East of England 70,310 67.3% 61%
36Carmarthenshire Wales 95,119 73% 61%
37East Riding of Yorkshire Yorkshire & Humber 175,994 94.5% 61%
38Ashford South East 61,757 68% 60%
39Coventry West Midlands 153,694 96.7% 60%
40Lancaster North West 69,517 87.2% 60%
41Wakefield Yorkshire & Humber 174,519 94.2% 60%
42Wealden South East 78,127 75.3% 60%
43Aberdeen City Scotland 132,364 93.1% 59%
44Barking and Dagenham London 85,709 90% 59%
45Bridgend Wales 68,654 93.1% 59%
46East Ayrshire Scotland 63,107 76.2% 59%
47Epsom and Ewell South East 33,911 89.8% 59%
48Horsham South East 69,757 76.3% 59%
49Thanet South East 76,458 79.2% 59%
50West Lothian Scotland 91,512 80.4% 59%
51Brentwood East of England 36,910 84.7% 58%
52Bury North West 92,057 92.8% 58%
53Cannock Chase West Midlands 49,420 96.6% 58%
54Cheshire East North West 201,908 79.2% 58%
55Stirling Scotland 47,991 77.2% 58%
56Tower Hamlets London 158,445 82% 58%
57West Lancashire North West 54,725 85.6% 58%
58Cornwall South West 312,395 65.3% 57%
59Middlesbrough North East 71,097 62.6% 57%
60Rochford East of England 39,709 89.9% 57%
61South Ribble North West 56,125 85.4% 57%
62Stratford-on-Avon West Midlands 71,844 82.6% 57%
63Wirral North West 160,608 94.4% 57%
64Ceredigion Wales 39,489 58.7% 56%
65Cherwell South East 76,130 79.3% 56%
66East Cambridgeshire East of England 43,045 83.4% 56%
67Herefordshire, County of West Midlands 94,488 82.3% 56%
68Newham London 138,461 83% 56%
69North Ayrshire Scotland 74,751 80.2% 56%
70Powys Wales 71,500 62.1% 56%
71Tunbridge Wells South East 55,444 75% 56%
72Vale of Glamorgan Wales 65,626 87.1% 56%
73West Devon South West 28,563 64.2% 56%
74West Lindsey East Midlands 48,959 64.4% 56%
75Westmorland and Furness North West 129,530 81.8% 56%
76Basingstoke and Deane South East 86,328 66.9% 55%
77Canterbury South East 77,452 75% 55%
78Chorley North West 56,684 89.8% 55%
79Greenwich London 129,643 77.6% 55%
80Lichfield West Midlands 52,112 73.8% 55%
81Amber Valley East Midlands 64,565 89.2% 54%
82Bexley London 106,226 84.2% 54%
83Blaenau Gwent Wales 35,720 77.6% 54%
84City of London London 10,639 82.3% 54%
85Doncaster Yorkshire & Humber 152,377 94.5% 54%
86Dover South East 57,998 74.8% 54%
87Eastleigh South East 63,831 71.6% 54%
88Monmouthshire Wales 46,720 79% 54%
89North East Derbyshire East Midlands 51,533 87.9% 54%
90Sevenoaks South East 54,401 67.4% 54%
91Southwark London 157,267 82.1% 54%
92Swindon South West 106,022 93.7% 54%
93Three Rivers East of England 40,594 85.6% 54%
94Tonbridge and Malling South East 59,726 75% 54%
95Vale of White Horse South East 67,555 64.3% 54%
96Wiltshire South West 242,119 69.7% 54%
97Wrexham Wales 67,484 86.1% 54%
98Chelmsford East of England 86,129 81.1% 53%
99Chichester South East 65,495 67.3% 53%
100Cotswold South West 49,519 72.2% 53%
101East Dunbartonshire Scotland 51,129 76.1% 53%
102Fife Scotland 197,211 71.7% 53%
103Isle of Anglesey Wales 38,434 67.6% 53%
104North Kesteven East Midlands 58,144 69.6% 53%
105North Somerset South West 106,398 84.5% 53%
106Shropshire West Midlands 159,756 74.3% 53%
107South Kesteven East Midlands 72,457 78.1% 53%
108Tendring East of England 79,410 79.4% 53%
109Tewkesbury South West 49,942 75% 53%
110Central Bedfordshire East of England 140,078 74.4% 52%
111Gwynedd Wales 68,491 70.7% 52%
112Maidstone South East 79,910 71.4% 52%
113Perth and Kinross Scotland 82,087 36.6% 52%
114Redbridge London 113,186 84.8% 52%
115Rugby West Midlands 54,170 92.2% 52%
116Scottish Borders Scotland 66,240 75.7% 52%
117South Cambridgeshire East of England 77,917 68.1% 52%
118Test Valley South East 62,034 58% 52%
119Uttlesford East of England 42,085 76.2% 52%
120West Berkshire South East 74,766 78.6% 52%
121West Oxfordshire South East 56,719 84.7% 52%
122West Suffolk East of England 88,383 79.3% 52%
123Wychavon West Midlands 65,578 78.2% 52%
124Eastbourne South East 51,764 92.7% 51%
125Harborough East Midlands 47,221 77.9% 51%
126Norwich East of England 59,400 75.2% 51%
127Oldham North West 100,701 94.1% 51%
128Peterborough East of England 97,053 94.8% 51%
129Salford North West 139,912 90.4% 51%
130Sheffield Yorkshire & Humber 269,317 92.3% 51%
131Somerset South West 287,056 74.6% 51%
132Spelthorne South East 46,582 80.5% 51%
133Teignbridge South West 68,957 73.8% 51%
134Torbay South West 77,760 83.6% 51%
135Argyll and Bute Scotland 58,013 23.9% 50%
136Bracknell Forest South East 56,577 96.7% 50%
137Braintree East of England 75,805 90.3% 50%
138Chesterfield East Midlands 55,160 88% 50%
139County Durham North East 268,929 84.1% 50%
140East Hertfordshire East of England 71,295 71% 50%
141Elmbridge South East 62,685 63.1% 50%
142Huntingdonshire East of England 88,819 78.8% 50%
143Isle of Wight South East 79,805 87% 50%
144Knowsley North West 75,708 93.7% 50%
145Leeds Yorkshire & Humber 394,243 93.1% 50%
146Merton London 92,087 81.6% 50%
147North Northamptonshire East Midlands 172,223 88.6% 50%
148North Warwickshire West Midlands 31,671 75.3% 50%
149South Norfolk East of England 70,435 70.9% 50%
150Tameside North West 115,875 92.2% 50%
151Tandridge South East 39,630 59.5% 50%
152Thurrock East of England 73,440 85.3% 50%
153Torridge South West 36,314 60% 50%
154Wandsworth London 167,759 85.2% 50%
155Basildon East of England 84,971 74.3% 49%
156Bassetlaw East Midlands 61,332 77.6% 49%
157Dumfries and Galloway Scotland 83,562 66.9% 49%
158Epping Forest East of England 62,805 73.1% 49%
159Exeter South West 63,219 79.9% 49%
160Mid Devon South West 38,610 67.2% 49%
161Northumberland North East 174,759 82.1% 49%
162Reigate and Banstead South East 66,155 75.5% 49%
163Rushcliffe East Midlands 59,030 64.8% 49%
164Shetland Islands Scotland 13,367 20% 49%
165Torfaen Wales 47,028 73.2% 49%
166Westminster London 164,725 88.3% 49%
167Bolsover East Midlands 40,964 89.1% 48%
168Broadland East of England 65,407 78.1% 48%
169Dartford South East 53,329 73.5% 48%
170Folkestone and Hythe South East 56,402 74.5% 48%
171King's Lynn and West Norfolk East of England 80,857 65.3% 48%
172North Hertfordshire East of England 63,390 69.6% 48%
173North Tyneside North East 105,743 84.6% 48%
174Pendle North West 45,223 93% 48%
175Rossendale North West 35,605 92.1% 48%
176Rother South East 50,368 74.4% 48%
177Runnymede South East 40,184 77.2% 48%
178Rutland East Midlands 19,193 78.8% 48%
179Southampton South East 116,135 95% 48%
180Stafford West Midlands 68,153 72.9% 48%
181St Albans East of England 66,276 81.7% 48%
182Sutton London 88,779 78.1% 48%
183Waverley South East 59,866 68% 48%
184Bedford East of England 85,658 75.1% 47%
185Belfast Northern Ireland 174,558 92.3% 47%
186Dacorum East of England 71,169 68.3% 47%
187Hastings South East 47,324 83.6% 47%
188Highland Scotland 137,076 63.3% 47%
189Hyndburn North West 41,812 93.4% 47%
190Kirklees Yorkshire & Humber 202,870 92.9% 47%
191Lewes South East 49,391 74.4% 47%
192Newcastle upon Tyne North East 145,462 86.9% 47%
193Rhondda Cynon Taf Wales 121,242 80% 47%
194Slough South East 59,322 91.5% 47%
195South Hams South West 51,519 58.6% 47%
196Waltham Forest London 116,847 87.4% 47%
197Worthing South East 54,689 93.3% 47%
198Adur South East 30,449 76.9% 46%
199Babergh East of England 46,716 75.4% 46%
200Gravesham South East 47,069 73% 46%
201Newport Wales 75,576 87.6% 46%
202Orkney Islands Scotland 13,362 30% 46%
203Pembrokeshire Wales 67,326 69.2% 46%
204South Derbyshire East Midlands 52,037 92.2% 46%
205Welwyn Hatfield East of England 52,174 60.1% 46%
206Wokingham South East 78,179 84.2% 46%
207Arun South East 83,410 82.3% 45%
208Buckinghamshire South East 250,031 74.5% 45%
209Cardiff Wales 172,880 87% 45%
210Derbyshire Dales East Midlands 39,191 63.3% 45%
211Dorset South West 197,995 75.8% 45%
212Fenland East of England 50,659 84.2% 45%
213Forest of Dean South West 43,509 79.5% 45%
214Harrow London 102,944 77.7% 45%
215Hillingdon London 124,948 80.6% 45%
216Liverpool North West 237,006 88% 45%
217Manchester North West 262,217 86.7% 45%
218Nuneaton and Bedworth West Midlands 64,700 70.3% 45%
219Redditch West Midlands 40,342 49.6% 45%
220South Oxfordshire South East 70,912 74.9% 45%
221Stockton-on-Tees North East 93,612 59.6% 45%
222Walsall West Midlands 120,545 86.1% 45%
223Warrington North West 102,417 92.2% 45%
224Wyre Forest West Midlands 50,157 82.2% 45%
225Cumberland North West 149,392 83.5% 44%
226Great Yarmouth East of England 50,682 82.8% 44%
227Guildford South East 61,772 65.6% 44%
228Halton North West 63,134 88.7% 44%
229North Devon South West 54,147 60.9% 44%
230Rotherham Yorkshire & Humber 129,292 94.7% 44%
231South Lanarkshire Scotland 168,033 68.8% 44%
232South Staffordshire West Midlands 51,799 83.6% 44%
233South Tyneside North East 76,597 66.4% 44%
234Watford East of England 45,444 87.8% 44%
235Bristol, City of South West 219,825 83.4% 43%
236Broxtowe East Midlands 53,924 86.8% 43%
237Darlington North East 56,837 86.7% 43%
238Erewash East Midlands 56,638 93.6% 43%
239Gedling East Midlands 57,888 84.5% 43%
240Glasgow City Scotland 346,722 92% 43%
241High Peak East Midlands 47,534 85.3% 43%
242Lewisham London 142,852 78.5% 43%
243Medway South East 126,910 81.2% 43%
244Na H-Eileanan Siar Scotland 17,811 12% 43%
245Newark and Sherwood East Midlands 62,078 81.8% 43%
246North West Leicestershire East Midlands 51,974 79.5% 43%
247Solihull West Midlands 100,243 81.2% 43%
248Stroud South West 60,255 79.9% 43%
249Swansea Wales 120,319 85.3% 43%
250Trafford North West 111,129 92.6% 43%
251Windsor and Maidenhead South East 69,820 77.6% 43%
252Barnet London 167,914 69.7% 42%
253Bromley London 148,822 69.2% 42%
254Derby East Midlands 122,861 88% 42%
255East Lindsey East Midlands 76,235 64% 42%
256Havering London 115,624 84.5% 42%
257Lambeth London 157,530 83.5% 42%
258New Forest South East 88,661 75.4% 42%
259Reading South East 79,541 95.6% 42%
260Angus Scotland 62,607 58.9% 41%
261Boston East Midlands 34,891 80% 41%
262Burnley North West 46,756 92.4% 41%
263East Hampshire South East 60,335 62.7% 41%
264East Renfrewshire Scotland 42,896 88.8% 41%
265East Staffordshire West Midlands 59,419 82.1% 41%
266Fareham South East 53,634 91.7% 41%
267Gosport South East 39,455 92% 41%
268Hart South East 44,658 75.6% 41%
269Hinckley and Bosworth East Midlands 56,664 75.9% 41%
270Ipswich East of England 66,242 95.4% 41%
271Kingston upon Thames London 72,866 71.2% 41%
272North Yorkshire Yorkshire & Humber 328,672 82.3% 41%
273Rochdale North West 104,136 87.7% 41%
274Staffordshire Moorlands West Midlands 47,700 71.4% 41%
275Stockport North West 142,123 87.6% 41%
276Bath and North East Somerset South West 90,941 72.9% 40%
277Blaby East Midlands 46,743 90.5% 40%
278City of Edinburgh Scotland 290,522 84.2% 40%
279Hammersmith and Fulham London 96,829 85.4% 40%
280Melton East Midlands 26,713 67.2% 40%
281North Lanarkshire Scotland 169,925 72.6% 40%
282Sandwell West Midlands 145,257 91.2% 40%
283Sefton North West 140,780 84.2% 40%
284Sunderland North East 141,891 80.6% 40%
285Telford and Wrekin West Midlands 89,421 57.5% 40%
286Wigan North West 160,777 87.7% 40%
287Bradford Yorkshire & Humber 236,231 91.3% 39%
288Cheltenham South West 60,845 86% 39%
289Colchester East of England 91,412 68% 39%
290Falkirk Scotland 77,807 71% 39%
291Hertsmere East of England 47,748 72.3% 39%
292Hounslow London 107,464 65.9% 39%
293Mole Valley South East 40,988 70.8% 39%
294Neath Port Talbot Wales 69,680 78.1% 39%
295Broxbourne East of England 44,673 74.3% 38%
296Hartlepool North East 49,075 95.7% 38%
297Mansfield East Midlands 54,727 85.7% 38%
298North Lincolnshire Yorkshire & Humber 82,674 93.1% 38%
299Renfrewshire Scotland 98,798 92.4% 38%
300Richmond upon Thames London 89,806 70.4% 38%
301South Holland East Midlands 47,597 76.4% 38%
302St. Helens North West 90,219 94.5% 38%
303York Yorkshire & Humber 97,922 86.6% 38%
304Barnsley Yorkshire & Humber 120,747 88.5% 37%
305Birmingham West Midlands 495,645 85.6% 37%
306Brent London 144,962 77.8% 37%
307Croydon London 175,754 70.7% 37%
308Ealing London 161,460 72% 37%
309Hackney London 129,955 84.1% 37%
310Preston North West 74,770 86% 37%
311South Ayrshire Scotland 60,868 71.3% 37%
312Stevenage East of England 40,195 56.8% 37%
313Warwick West Midlands 73,506 61.4% 37%
314Bolton North West 137,545 88.1% 36%
315Castle Point East of England 41,984 85.1% 36%
316Dundee City Scotland 81,909 85.8% 36%
317East Lothian Scotland 57,359 87.8% 36%
318Haringey London 114,429 61.6% 36%
319North Norfolk East of England 62,089 54.5% 36%
320Winchester South East 61,397 58.4% 36%
321Calderdale Yorkshire & Humber 104,549 85.9% 35%
322Charnwood East Midlands 82,242 88.7% 35%
323Mid Suffolk East of England 53,972 62.4% 35%
324Wolverhampton West Midlands 120,254 95.9% 35%
325Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole South West 202,347 79.4% 34%
326Cambridge East of England 61,820 89.4% 34%
327Havant South East 59,774 69.4% 34%
328Nottingham East Midlands 146,492 89.6% 34%
329Portsmouth South East 95,584 87.6% 34%
330Blackburn with Darwen North West 70,158 89.4% 33%
331Crawley South East 50,361 68% 33%
332Oadby and Wigston East Midlands 26,099 95% 33%
333Rushmoor South East 45,277 90.7% 33%
334Stoke-on-Trent West Midlands 125,810 89.5% 33%
335Woking South East 46,193 75.8% 33%
336Leicester East Midlands 148,930 94.4% 32%
337Newcastle-under-Lyme West Midlands 62,179 78.5% 32%
338Plymouth South West 128,670 78.2% 32%
339Ashfield East Midlands 61,160 88.5% 31%
340Inverclyde Scotland 42,546 58.3% 31%
341Lincoln East Midlands 50,848 86.8% 31%
342Luton East of England 88,874 91.6% 31%
343West Northamptonshire East Midlands 196,164 93.5% 31%
344Brighton and Hove South East 145,440 68.9% 29%
345Gateshead North East 103,311 77% 29%
346Surrey Heath South East 40,131 73.8% 29%
347Redcar and Cleveland North East 70,507 60.3% 28%
348Tamworth West Midlands 37,121 88.5% 27%
349Camden London 122,089 86.9% 26%
350Enfield London 137,604 59.5% 26%
351Harlow East of England 42,481 41.9% 26%
352North East Lincolnshire Yorkshire & Humber 76,553 80.1% 26%
353Dudley West Midlands 149,747 89.7% 25%
354Gloucester South West 62,442 77.7% 25%
355Islington London 120,274 84.4% 24%
356Southend-on-Sea East of England 87,926 97.6% 24%
357West Dunbartonshire Scotland 48,494 54.9% 23%
358Blackpool North West 79,872 83.9% 22%
359Oxford South East 69,368 57.1% 22%
360Isles of Scilly South West 1,711 50.2% 20%
361Kensington and Chelsea London 97,970 73% 19%

Every dot is one council, placed at the centre of its premises and sized by how many it has. There is no map underneath and the shape of the country is drawn entirely by where its buildings are. Switch to Switch-off notspots for the towns with no gigabit line to move to.

The places with nowhere to go

Adoption is a choice. For 581 built-up areas it is not one — there is still no gigabit-capable line to move to.

These are the towns and villages where fewer than half of premises can order a gigabit service, holding 590,792 premises between them. In 150 of them the figure is under 10%. When the PSTN switches off, the fallback for these lines is not fibre — it is whatever fixed wireless, 4G or satellite can be made to work.

They cluster exactly where you would expect: the rural fringe of otherwise well-served counties, where the commercial build stopped at the edge of town.

If your lines are still on copper, the clock is the problem

Nothing in this data stops on 31 January 2027 by itself. Analogue lines do. Alarms, lifts, door entry, card machines and fax lines all sit on the same copper, and they are the ones that get missed until the dial tone goes.

 

If you want to know what is actually connected to a copper line in your building, that is a conversation worth having early rather than in the last quarter.

Method and sources

Coverage figures are Ofcom’s Connected Nations Spring 2026 update, published 13 May 2026 and reporting the network as at January 2026. We used the output-area file — 238,878 areas, the only release carrying premises counts — and matched it to the ONS Postcode Directory (May 2026) on 2021 output areas, then aggregated to built-up areas and councils weighted by premises. 238,873 of 238,878 output areas matched.

  • Take-up is full-fibre connections as a share of premises where full fibre is available. Ofcom publishes it at council level only, so it is shown as council context and is not used to rank towns.
  • Gigabit availability includes full fibre and Virgin Media O2’s cable network, following Ofcom’s definition.
  • Built-up areas are the ONS 2024 geography, England and Wales only. Scotland and Northern Ireland appear at council level.
  • Places under 500 premises are excluded. 31.5m of 32.5m UK premises are represented.

Next refresh: Connected Nations 2026 is expected mid-to-late November 2026 and will move the coverage snapshot to September 2026.