Superfast fibre broadband

The one thing everyone wants to know is: "When can I get it?"

Superfast fibre is lighting up the UK. More than 10 million homes and businesses already have access to it. By end Spring 2014 we'll have rolled out superfast fibre to around two-thirds of UK premises. By then, 6 million children will also be able to learn at the speed of light, at home and at school. Working alongside local communities our aspiration is that 90 per cent of Britain has superfast fibre broadband by 2017.

The power of fibre

Much of the current copper network from the exchange to the street cabinet is being replaced by fibre. Fibre can carry massive amounts of information as pulses of light over far longer distances, without any reduction in quality.

Find out how superfast fibre broadband works and why it's set to be the future »

Rollout facts & figures

We're currently upgrading 2,400-3,000 cabinets a quarter and connecting between 100,000 and 150,000 premises with fibre every week. That means we're increasing the reach of superfast fibre to as many premises as there are in the whole of Singapore – every three months.

Now you know why we're calling it the Big Build.

Find out what the numbers add up to »

The Big Build diary

We're out and about every day monitoring, maintaining and – when needed – repairing the UK's communications network. And with £2.5 billion being invested in it, we're busier than ever.

Read our Big Build diary for a view from the frontline »

Our engineers

With over 720,000 years' experience between them, our 25,000 engineers keep the country connected – climbing the equivalent of Mount Everest every day, to maintain the network.

Find out what they get up to »

Innovative solutions

Getting fibre connections to the vast majority of the UK in the next few years is a massive challenge. And we've had to come up with a whole host of innovative solutions to make sure we meet that target.

Find out what we've developed to help us succeed »

It's not always straightforward...

Upgrading a network that's been built up over the last 100 years isn't easy – some of the underground ducts have been buried for 80 years. And then there's the good old British weather to contend with.

Check out some of the more unusual challenges we've faced »

Keeping the UK connected

Our work doesn't stop once we've got fibre in place. Far from it. We know people can't afford to be cut off these days – and it's our job to keep the UK connected.

See how our 24hr monitoring helps keep everyone in touch »

Building a new network: the key stages from planning to go live

From the moment you see your exchange appear on the rollout plans, it could be up to 15 months before it's ready to supply superfast fibre broadband.

Why? Well, there are a lot of things to get in place »