The rollout of full-fibre broadband continues to accelerate. The availability of fibre to the home (FTTH) in the UK has surged from under 2% of premises in 2016 to 43% last year. With the current growth rate, it seems likely that 2023 will see that number go far past 50%.

Full-fibre provision will continue be a priority for broadband providers for some years yet. Many households are continuing to require the most they can get out of their broadband connections with multiple devices for work, streaming, gaming and video calling.

While most providers don’t currently offer full-fibre connections beyond 1 Gbps, technology companies are already anticipating future speed demands. Telefonica has recently successfully trialled 25G PON technology using Nokia equipment. With this technology offering a theoretical symmetrical speed of 25 Gbps, consumers can look forward to even more capable speeds in the years to come. Nokia are not resting on their laurels however, and are now even trialling technologies which will allow for a 100 Gbps connection.

Not to be outdone, mobile providers are surging ahead with their rollout of faster networks. Some 70% of UK households now have access to a 5G service from at least one network, providing healthy competition to traditional fixed-line broadband providers as to who can get a reliable, fast internet connection into homes first.

PTT has a number of courses that cover full-fibre broadband access such as “Optical access networks” and “Next generation access networks“. Two new PTT courses covering 5G technology and services will be available soon.