"The topline finding from Openreach's research was that the UK's online habits have hit unprecedented heights, in particular when it comes to working, streaming video, gaming and living online. The company said broadband usage over its national network soared by 4.8% in 2025, exceeding 108,599 Petabytes (PB) - 108,599 million gigabytes - of data in total. This, said the provider, was enough to stream more than 10 million hours of HD video every single day."
"Outlining its history, the BT-owned company noted that when it was formed in 2006, the UK was moving from dial-up to 8Mbps broadband. Streaming was in its infancy, Nokia and BlackBerry ruled the mobile device world, DVDs were mainstream, and the Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3 were the latest gaming consoles. Currently around eight million homes and businesses use Openreach full-fibre, with 21 million premises able to connect."
"Drilling deeper, the research found that December 2025 was a record-breaker for data consumption, with 10,317PB generated by users on their devices. This came immediately after the single busiest day of 2025 on 30 November, as a massive Fortnite update was released to gamers. The game became a consistent driver of peaks in demand, with major updates during 2025 coinciding with record-breaking spikes."
Openreach celebrates its 20th anniversary and reports continued strong demand for fast, reliable connectivity, with full-fibre carrying more data than copper and hybrid technologies. When formed in 2006 the UK was shifting from dial-up to 8Mbps broadband; streaming was nascent and devices like Nokia and BlackBerry dominated. Around eight million premises currently use Openreach full-fibre, and 21 million are able to connect. Engineers are connecting roughly one million premises every three months, targeting 25 million by end-2026 and 30 million by 2030, subject to regulatory conditions. National broadband usage rose 4.8% in 2025 to 108,599 PB, with December 2025 a record month (10,317 PB). Major Fortnite updates drove significant daily traffic spikes, including a 372PB peak on 21 February 2025.
Read at ComputerWeekly.com
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