BT’s full fibre programme is approaching its headline construction target, moving the commercial focus from passing premises to persuading households and businesses to connect to the network.

BT Group said Openreach’s fibre footprint had reached 23.4 million premises after another 514,000 were added during the quarter. The network remains on course to pass 25 million by the end of December 2026.

Openreach connected 574,000 additional premises, taking its full fibre customer base to 9.4 million and adoption to 40 per cent. Broadband average revenue per user rose by seven per cent to £17.70, supported by fibre take-up, faster services, and pricing.

Those numbers show substantial construction and migration progress, although a network laid past an address produces limited return until a retail provider orders a line and the customer begins paying for it.

Construction gives way to migration

Openreach has invested heavily to replace copper infrastructure, while alternative networks have built competing fibre in many of the same towns and cities. The resulting overlap has widened choice and accelerated construction, but it also makes it harder for every operator to reach the utilisation assumed in its investment case.

Openreach benefits from longstanding wholesale relationships with a large collection of retail providers, which helps explain stronger take-up than many newer networks have achieved. Even so, most premises within its footprint have not yet moved to full fibre, while some remain with cable, mobile, or rival fibre services.

The retirement of the old public switched telephone network creates a route for migration because customers using legacy voice services need internet based replacements. That process reaches beyond conventional telephone calls because alarms, telecare devices, lifts, payment terminals, and building systems were designed to use an analogue line.

Providers must identify vulnerable customers, test dependent equipment, explain power backup, and prevent a network renewal programme from interrupting services that users may not think of as telecommunications. Moving a broadband line is relatively straightforward compared with discovering that a health alarm no longer works during a power cut.

Openreach’s total broadband base declined by 192,000 lines during the quarter, and BT continues to expect a fall of around 800,000 across the year. Fibre adoption is therefore improving while the overall access market remains competitive and some customers leave the network.

Returns depend on use and retirement

BT expects capital expenditure to decline as the build passes its peak, supporting plans for stronger cash flow later in the decade. That financial improvement depends on new fibre revenue and operating savings arriving as construction spending recedes.

Modern fibre can consume less electricity and require fewer repairs than ageing copper. BT said network energy consumption fell by eight per cent and Openreach repair volumes declined by 21 per cent, while the group’s labour resource also reduced.

Infrastructure renewal therefore sits alongside workforce change. Fewer copper faults can reduce field activity, while remaining jobs move towards fibre installation, software controlled networks, complex customer cases, and maintaining continuity during retirement of the older system.

Alternative networks continue to influence wholesale pricing and investment, although many face high debt, limited take-up, and pressure to consolidate. A market containing fewer networks may become more financially stable while also weakening the competitive pressure that accelerated Britain’s fibre build.

Regulators must balance inefficient duplication against the benefits infrastructure competition has brought to coverage, pricing, and service. Allowing one network to dominate may reduce wasted construction, yet it can also leave retail providers and customers more dependent on one set of commercial decisions.

Business migration provides additional room for growth because many smaller organisations still use older connectivity or consumer grade services that offer limited support and resilience. Fibre availability alone will not move them if installation, pricing, or downtime creates unacceptable disruption.

Reaching 25 million premises will complete an important construction phase rather than the entire commercial programme. The more demanding measure is whether take-up, reliability, operational savings, and wholesale revenue convert a vast civil engineering investment into a sustainable national network.