Paul Lipscombe
December 18, 2020
The global coronavirus pandemic has meant more people are struggling to pay their broadband and mobile bills
Nearly five million UK households have struggled to afford their telecoms bills this year.
That is according to new research from Ofcom, which revealed 4.7 million (19 per cent of homes) have struggled to pay for telecoms services during the global coronavirus pandemic.
It comes in a year where the need for connectivity has been more important than ever, with millions of Brits still working remotely.
Ofcom found that six per cent of those struggling financially are finding it difficult to cover their fixed line bills, while five per cent battle to cover their mobile bill.
UK: 4 7m families struggled to pay telecom bills this year
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Gigabit broadband available in 25% of UK homes
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Ofcom has revealed that eight million UK households now have access to gigabit-speed broadband.
The regulator highlighted the key findings in its latest Connected Nations report.
This report analyses the availability of broadband and mobile services across the UK.
Gigabit-capable broadband can provide download speeds of up to 1Gbit/s, which is considerably faster than the current UK average of 72Mbit/s.
The eight million homes means that just over a quarter (27 per cent) of UK homes has access to gigabit speeds.
This includes full fibre services, plus Virgin Media’s fastest cable package, with Northern Ireland having the highest availability (56 per cent).