Petroc Taylor
Research expert covering global developments in the use of data
Get in touch with us nowHousehold spending on mobile services continues to fall
The total number of mobile subscriptions in the UK reached 81.6 million in 2022, with mobile technology adopted by 97 percent of the population as of the first half of 2023. Despite high penetration, household spending on mobile services has fallen sharply in recent years due to shifting consumption habits. The average monthly household spend on mobile voice and data services fell to around 37 British pounds in 2022, down from a high of almost 59 British pounds in 2015. This has driven a downward trend in total mobile retail revenues over the past decade, though a slight increase in 2022 points to a possible recovery over the coming years. Fifth-generation networks will play a central role in any future market growth, with forecasts expecting 61 percent of all mobile connections to be 5G by 2025.Fiber broadband propels fixed download speeds
The rollout of fiber-optic networks across the UK has prompted a shift in fixed broadband connection types. Of the 28 million fixed connections in the UK in 2022, 17 million were fiber-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) connections, while three million were classified as fiber-to-the premises (FTTP) connections, up from two million the previous year. FTTP is considered ‘full fiber’, as only fiber-optic cables are used to carry a connection to an address. Meanwhile, FTTC connections utilize traditional copper telephone cables to carry a connection over the final stage from the street cabinet to the address, and thus deliver slower download speeds. The increase in FTTP connections has helped spur a surge in average download speeds, which surpassed 100 Mbit/s for the first time in 2022.BT is still a leader in fixed telecoms
BT, formerly British Telecom, has remained the leading player in UK fixed telecoms segment, having operated the nation’s telecoms networks prior to the liberalization of the market in the 1980s. The company serviced a third of all broadband subscriptions in 2022, and generated almost 5.2 billion British pounds in revenue in the first quarter of its 2024 financial year. BT also owns Openreach, a legally separate company which maintains the fixed network infrastructure used by the majority of UK providers.
