Study predicts growth for UK fibre broadband provision

Fibre optic broadband connectivity is set to see a major increase in prevalence in the UK over the coming years, according to a new study from Point Topic.

The telecoms analyst firm claimed there will be 10.8 million fibre broadband lines by the end of 2016, representing a more than 20-fold increase on the current total.

More than 20.7 million homes and businesses across the country currently have access to some form of broadband connection, with this number expected to reach 25.9 million in four years' time.

Point Topic also predicted that telecoms firms will continue to invest in fibre optic broadband networks and upgrade existing slower infrastructure to offer faster speeds to end users.

Despite this positive report, Ryan Heath - spokesperson for EU Digital Agenda commissioner Neelie Kroes - recently warned that progress on rolling out next-generation broadband services across Europe has been slow.

"So far it is coming from other sources like cable and fibre-copper combinations rather than pure fibre to the home," he was quoted by EurActiv as saying.