Places like Cornwall and the South West have lagged behind urban areas for a long time when it comes to technological infrastructure such as broadband, especially in rural and hard-to-reach locations. However, that gap is finally closing! A 2023 report by Ofcom shows that average peak-time speeds for broadband in rural areas were 56 Mbps, compared to 70.3 Mbps in towns and cities. While there’s still a speed gap between the two, a 26% difference, it’s a huge improvement from the 58% gap in 2022.
Superfast is the standard for urban areas
Ofcom’s 2024 Connected Nations report found that 69% (20.7 million) of UK households have access to Full Fibre broadband, up from 57% (17.1 million) in 2023. In the whole UK, Northern Ireland leads the way with 93% of homes being capable of accessing Full Fibre home broadband.
Using fibre optic cables directly to the home, instead of copper lines, makes Full Fibre broadband a much faster and more reliable online experience. Full Fibre networks, such as Wildanet, can potentially deliver gigabit per second (Gbit/s) speeds or higher, making it a huge benefit for online activities such as streaming and gaming.
Rural broadband is picking up the pace
Many rural areas are still catching up after years of being left behind with old copper-based ADSL connections. Some of these networks offer less than 10 Mbps, which barely handles the basics, such as remote work or video calls. While fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) helped to bridge the gap by speeding things up, it still relies on those old copper lines, and that’s where performance can suffer.
In 2025, Full Fibre is changing the game entirely. The UK government is enhancing its efforts through Project Gigabit, which aims to bring gigabit-capable rural broadband connections to hard-to-reach areas. The goal of the project is to achieve at least 85% nationwide coverage by the end of the year and full coverage by 2030.
Discover more about Full Fibre rural broadband
Wildanet is investing in Full Fibre broadband across Cornwall and the South West, bringing fast, reliable broadband to homes and businesses. This means outdated infrastructure will slowly but surely be a thing of the past, and so will the frustration of buffering and slow speeds.
Want to know if rural broadband is available in your area? Use our postcode checker to find out if full fibre is live near you and take the first step towards better broadband.
