What is the future of broadband in the UK? From the proliferation of working from home and hybrid working to the continued growth of data-hungry social media, we now rely on our internet connections more than ever.
In the race to keep up, here are the changes we expect to see in the coming year and beyond – and how you can make sure your home stays at the cutting edge.
Project Gigabit
Project Gigabit is the name for the UK government’s plan to expand ultra-fast, full-fibre broadband across the nation.
The plan includes investing in further infrastructure developments, including 30 contracts to expand coverage to areas unlikely to be reached by the commercial market alone.
The aim is to make ultrafast broadband available in more than 99% of properties by 2032.
The Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme
A long name for an exciting programme. The GBVS (much easier to say) offers up to £4,500 in vouchers to qualifying homes and businesses to help cover the costs of upgrading to full-fibre broadband.
The growth of 5G (and 6G)
Even as the government are working to provide universal fibre coverage, the future of broadband may lie elsewhere. 5G broadband is becoming an increasingly popular option for home connections, offering ultrafast speeds in areas without fibre broadband, increased flexibility and a reliable network even when wired infrastructure fails.
Current mobile broadband technology will also get a boost in the coming years with the rollout of 6G networks expected in the 2030s. Where mixed fibre connections offer speeds of around 70 Mbps, and full fibre and 5G internet caps out at around 1 Gbps, 6G connections are expected to reach speeds between 100 Gbps and 1 Tbps — 1,000 times faster than current ultrafast connections.
WiFi 6 protocol
WiFi 6 protocol devices are already available on the market, and in the coming years, we expect to see broadband providers upgrade the routers they include in their plans to ones operating on this technology.
By the time that happens, however, WiFi 6 will no longer be the most up-to-date standard. WiFi 6E devices are already being introduced, and WiFi 7 hardware has already been proposed as the future of broadband for both homes and businesses.
For those looking to stay ahead of the curve, buying your own router remains a better option for the fastest possible speeds than relying on the hardware provided by your internet supplier.
Top tip! Want faster WiFi at home for free? Check out these six hacks for giving your broadband a boost.
Growth of Indie broadband
For the past two decades, home internet connections have been dominated by a small handful of companies operating on just two networks – the Openreach network and Virgin Media’s private fibre network.
The companies have relied on the lack of alternative options to keep customers in long contracts while raising prices and offering subpar customer service.
However, in recent years, we have seen an explosive growth among indie broadband providers in the UK offering alternative high-quality connections.
Many of these companies specialise in a particular niche, whether that’s providing ultrafast connections in rural areas, installing in new build properties directly so they are available from day one, or using mobile broadband technology to provide fast, flexible connections.
The future of broadband is fast
If there’s one thing that’s clear about the future of broadband, it’s that our need for lightning-fast connections and huge data allowances is not going anywhere.
Most of us now rely on the internet for both work and leisure, using it to stay in touch with loved ones, work from anywhere, stream films, TV and music and run appliances at home through the Internet of Things.
The question isn’t whether internet technology will continue to evolve to meet the demand, but how fast we can expect to see new technologies rolled out and adopted in 2026 and beyond.
