Broadband in the South West: 75% can get full fibre.
In the South West, 74.9% of premises can get full fibre and 80.6% can get gigabit speeds (Ofcom, January 2026), below the UK figure of 81% for full fibre. Across its 27 council areas, full fibre ranges from 94% in Swindon to 50% in Isles of Scilly.
Broadband coverage in the South West
Best and worst connected in the South West
Every council in the South West, ranked by full fibre
| # | Council | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Swindon106,022 premises · UK rank 30 | 93.7% | 96.9% | 98.5% | 54% | +2.7pts | 0.4%388 premises |
| 2 | Cheltenham60,845 premises · UK rank 122 | 86% | 93.5% | 99.6% | 39% | +2.0pts | 0.1%78 premises |
| 3 | North Somerset106,398 premises · UK rank 144 | 84.5% | 89.4% | 97.4% | 53% | +2.0pts | 0.8%858 premises |
| 4 | Torbay77,760 premises · UK rank 156 | 83.6% | 87.8% | 97.7% | 51% | +1.3pts | 0.1%97 premises |
| 5 | Bristol219,825 premises · UK rank 159 | 83.4% | 94.1% | 97% | 43% | +1.7pts | 0.3%668 premises |
| 6 | Exeter63,219 premises · UK rank 192 | 79.9% | 90.4% | 97.2% | 49% | +1.1pts | 0.9%544 premises |
| 7 | Stroud60,255 premises · UK rank 193 | 79.9% | 80.8% | 98% | 43% | +4.1pts | 0.5%273 premises |
| 8 | Forest of Dean43,509 premises · UK rank 194 | 79.5% | 79.5% | 94.5% | 45% | +1.9pts | 2.4%1,025 premises |
| 9 | Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole202,347 premises · UK rank 196 | 79.4% | 89% | 98.7% | 34% | +1.0pts | 0.1%104 premises |
| 10 | Plymouth128,670 premises · UK rank 209 | 78.2% | 93.8% | 97.6% | 32% | +1.6pts | 0.4%575 premises |
| 11 | Gloucester62,442 premises · UK rank 217 | 77.7% | 94.8% | 99.4% | 25% | +21.5pts | 0.2%102 premises |
| 12 | Dorset197,995 premises · UK rank 233 | 75.8% | 76.7% | 97.7% | 45% | +5.7pts | 0.6%1,114 premises |
| 13 | East Devon79,343 premises · UK rank 242 | 75.2% | 75.2% | 93.8% | 62% | +1.3pts | 2.1%1,646 premises |
| 14 | Tewkesbury49,942 premises · UK rank 246 | 75% | 87.7% | 95.6% | 53% | +7.6pts | 1.6%797 premises |
| 15 | Somerset287,056 premises · UK rank 251 | 74.6% | 75.7% | 95.1% | 51% | +2.3pts | 1.7%4,871 premises |
| 16 | Teignbridge68,957 premises · UK rank 263 | 73.8% | 76.9% | 93.1% | 51% | -0.6pts | 2.4%1,687 premises |
| 17 | Bath and North East Somerset90,941 premises · UK rank 270 | 72.9% | 79.3% | 96.4% | 40% | +2.4pts | 0.4%405 premises |
| 18 | Cotswold49,519 premises · UK rank 274 | 72.2% | 72.2% | 97.2% | 53% | +6.2pts | 0.7%344 premises |
| 19 | Wiltshire242,119 premises · UK rank 292 | 69.7% | 76.9% | 97.1% | 54% | +3.2pts | 0.7%1,798 premises |
| 20 | Mid Devon38,610 premises · UK rank 311 | 67.2% | 67.2% | 88% | 49% | +8.1pts | 6%2,304 premises |
| 21 | South Gloucestershire137,521 premises · UK rank 312 | 67% | 85.4% | 97.1% | 64% | +9.3pts | 0.5%698 premises |
| 22 | Cornwall312,395 premises · UK rank 318 | 65.3% | 66% | 93.3% | 57% | +4.2pts | 1.5%4,562 premises |
| 23 | West Devon28,563 premises · UK rank 323 | 64.2% | 64.2% | 86.9% | 56% | +4.4pts | 7.4%2,126 premises |
| 24 | North Devon54,147 premises · UK rank 335 | 60.9% | 60.9% | 92.8% | 44% | -4.2pts | 3.4%1,819 premises |
| 25 | Torridge36,314 premises · UK rank 338 | 60% | 60% | 86.9% | 50% | -2.8pts | 7.4%2,696 premises |
| 26 | South Hams51,519 premises · UK rank 344 | 58.6% | 58.7% | 87.7% | 47% | +2.6pts | 4.2%2,160 premises |
| 27 | Isles of Scilly1,711 premises · UK rank 353 | 50.2% | 50.2% | 97.8% | 20% | +0.4pts | 0.1%1 premises |
Click a column to sort. * Change in full fibre coverage, percentage points, since July 2025. Source: Ofcom Connected Nations, January 2026 data (published May 2026). Contains Ofcom data © Ofcom 2026, Open Government Licence v3.0.
Full fibre in the 12 UK nations and regions
Share of premises that can get full fibre, January 2026. Totals of council areas, weighted by premises.
Most homes in the South West that can get full fibre haven’t switched
Of every 100 premises, 75 can get full fibre and 36 use it: a take-up of 48%, against 47.1% across the UK.
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Broadband in the South West: common questions
How much of the South West can get full fibre?
74.9% of premises in the South West could get full fibre in January 2026, below the UK figure of 81%, according to Ofcom.
Which council in the South West has the best full fibre?
Swindon, where 93.7% of premises can get it. Next are Cheltenham (86%) and North Somerset (84.5%).
Which council in the South West has the worst full fibre?
Isles of Scilly, where 50.2% of premises can get it.
How many homes in the South West cannot get decent broadband?
33,740 premises cannot get a 10 Mb download from a fixed line. They can request an upgrade under the Universal Service Obligation, free up to £3,400.
How many people in the South West use full fibre?
Take-up is 48%: that share of premises with full fibre available have switched to it. The UK figure is 47.1%.
Coverage and take-up: Ofcom Connected Nations, January 2026 data, Open Government Licence v3.0. Regions: Office for National Statistics, OGL v3.0. Methodology →