The broadband USO: your right to a decent connection

The legal specification is set out in Schedule 1 of the 2018 Order. A USO connection must have all of these characteristics:

The connection also has to be affordable. BT and KCOM both state Ofcom's threshold as no more than £59.60 a month (checked October 2026). It was £45 a month including VAT when the USO launched in 2020. KCOM explains that it covers the total charge (rental and connection, including VAT) over the contract's minimum term and is adjusted for CPI inflation. BT makes the point that "affordable" is about the monthly broadband charges, not the cost of building the network to you.

The 10Mbps figure was set by the government in March 2018. BT cites Ofcom research that 10Mbps is the minimum an average household currently needs. It's a floor, not a target: our guide on what broadband speed you need helps you work out what your home needs.

The law (Schedule 1 of the 2018 Order) sets four conditions. A USO connection can be requested if:

1. the connection is to a fixed location that is a residence or place of business;
2. a prospective end-user (the person who'd use it) asks for it;
3. a connection meeting the specification isn't available at that location and won't be made available through a publicly funded scheme within one year of the request; and
4. the connection costs no more than £3,400, or it costs more and the end-user pays the costs above £3,400.

BT's own wording adds a practical detail: you must not be able to get a connection through a 4G hub in your region. So if a mobile home broadband service at your address meets the specification at an affordable price, you're likely to be told you don't qualify, even if your phone line is slow.

The same can apply to satellite: Ofcom has confirmed that Starlink meets the USO criteria (more on that, and the exceptions, further down).

Which company handles your request depends on where the address is: BT, or KCOM if you live in the Hull area. Northern Ireland's Department for the Economy states plainly that you don't need to be an existing customer of BT or KCOM to apply.

The USO is rarely used in Hull. KCOM says the vast majority of premises in its area can get its Lightstream full fibre, and where an exception applies it makes sure standard ADSL is available. Its own performance report for March to August 2026 records one USO request and one confirmed order in that six months. KCOM also offers Flex packages for people on low incomes, and if money is the issue rather than availability, our guide to broadband social tariffs explains the cheaper deals for people on certain benefits.

If you're simply weighing up BT's everyday packages rather than a USO build, see our BT broadband deals page.

This is the BT process as BT describes it. KCOM's runs to similar timescales.

1. Check your postcode on BT's USO page. It shows what's already available; if BT thinks you might be eligible, it points you to the help desk.
2. Call the universal service help desk on 0800 783 0223. Have your address and speed test results to hand.
3. Wait for the eligibility check. BT confirms whether you qualify and whether the estimated cost of connecting you is under £3,400 excluding VAT. BT says this may take 30 days.
4. If the estimate is over £3,400, BT can carry out a full survey and give you a final quote. This may take 60 days.
5. Decide whether to go ahead. If there's an amount for you to pay, the work is planned once BT receives payment.
6. Use the 30-day change-of-mind period if you need it. BT says you have 30 days after paying to change your mind; after that the payment is non-refundable except as set out in its USO terms and conditions. Read those terms before you pay.
7. Wait for the build (see timescales below).

The law covers connections that cost no more than £3,400 per premises, or connections that cost more where the person asking pays everything above that figure. BT states the threshold as £3,400 excluding VAT. When the government set the design in 2018, it said the threshold would allow coverage of around 99.8% of premises.

What pushes a cost up is mostly civil engineering. BT names digging roads, overhead cabling, tree trimming and distance from the exchange. It also looks at how new network could reach other eligible properties nearby, which is where cost sharing comes in.

Because the USO is technology neutral, the outcome of a request isn't always a new cable.

• A 4G or 5G home broadband service. ISPreview reports that many people who apply to BT are offered 4G (or 5G) via EE instead. If you're offered this, check the data allowance and price, and see our guide on whether 4G or 5G can replace fixed broadband. You can also see what EE sells to the public on our EE broadband deals page.
• A full fibre build. Where a connection is counted as delivered under the USO, it has usually been full fibre (fibre to the premises, often called FTTP). BT's April 2026 report, covered by ISPreview, said its USO builds had used FTTP.
• A "no" because satellite qualifies. When the USO launched in 2020, ISPreview reported that the 200ms latency requirement ruled out satellite. That's no longer the position. In July 2026 Ofcom confirmed to ISPreview that Starlink meets the criteria, and BT only has to build where no qualifying alternative exists; ISPreview reports some applicants had already been turned down because Starlink was available. Our guide to satellite broadband in the UK explains how it works.

• Ofcom's Connected Nations 2025 report put 44,000 premises in the USO gap when fixed wireless and 4G/5G are counted, or around 340,000 (1%) if you look at fixed lines alone. Ofcom predicted the first figure would fall to 36,000 by the end of 2026 (as reported by ISPreview).
• Ofcom's Spring 2026 data, to January 2026, put the figure at 39,000 premises (0.1%) when 4G, 5G and fixed wireless are included, down from 44,000 (ISPreview, May 2026). ISPreview's July 2026 report gave the split as 23,000 in England, 9,000 in Scotland, 6,000 in Wales and 1,500 in Northern Ireland.
• Consumer Scotland's Connected Consumers report, covered by ISPreview on 30 September 2026, says 51,211 premises in Scotland can't access USO-level speeds, 43,602 of them rural. That's a different measure from Ofcom's headline count above.
• BT's April 2026 report said it had connected over 9,089 premises under the USO (up from 8,553 in October 2025), with 461 builds in progress.

The gap between "fixed lines only" and "including wireless" matters if you're thinking of applying. Ofcom's figures suggest most premises that can't get 10Mbps down a wire do have a wireless option that meets the standard, and because the USO is technology neutral, that option can count against you. These figures come from ISPreview's reporting of Ofcom data and from the reports named.

Not yet. When it set the design in 2018, the government said the 10Mbps minimum would be kept under review and was expected to rise over time. The Digital Economy Act 2017 links a review of the speed to the point when at least 75% of UK premises subscribe to a service of 30Mbps or more.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) ran a consultation on reviewing the USO from 2 October to 27 November 2023. Because of the 2024 change of government, DSIT says it doesn't expect to publish a response, and any changes would need a further consultation. ISPreview described the review as appearing to have stalled.

Pressure is building. Consumer Scotland's Connected Consumers report, covered by ISPreview on 30 September 2026, calls for an urgent review of the 10Mbps USO that starts promptly in 2026 and commits to raising the USO speed to at least superfast level. For now, the rules in this guide still apply (checked October 2026).

If you're not eligible, the quote is out of reach or you simply want something faster than 10Mbps, there are other routes:

• Openreach Fibre Community Partnership. This is separate from the USO. Openreach builds full fibre to communities outside its plans, funded by government gigabit vouchers (Openreach says eligible properties can get up to £4,500, checked October 2026), by the community or both. Openreach contracts with a legal entity representing the community (one may need to be set up, for a small charge), and once the build starts it typically takes 12-18 months.
• Project Gigabit. The UK government's gigabit broadband programme, which BT points to as an alternative. Our guide to Project Gigabit explains how it works.
• Scotland and Northern Ireland. BT points to R100 and Project Stratum. The Scottish Government says the R100 contract build is expected to finish in 2028, and its broadband address checker shows what's planned for your address. Project Stratum in Northern Ireland finished in June 2025; the Department for the Economy directs people to HyperfastNI to see whether it reached them. Our guide to broadband rollout in Scotland and Northern Ireland covers what's still running.
• Wireless and satellite options you can buy now. Our rural broadband options guide compares 4G/5G home broadband, fixed wireless and satellite for homes where the phone line is the weak link.
• Getting the most from a long copper line. Our guide to slow broadband on long lines covers what can and can't be improved.

The comparison on our broadband deals by area page shows live deals for your postcode through our comparison partner, and our broadband providers hub lists the networks and providers we cover, including smaller rural networks. We don't switch you or arrange USO requests ourselves; those go directly to BT or KCOM.

If you're unhappy with how BT has handled your USO request, raise a complaint through the universal service help desk on 0800 783 0223. If it isn't resolved within eight weeks, you can refer it to Ombudsman Services, which is free for you to use. KCOM handles USO complaints under its Complaints Code of Practice.

Keep a record of your request date, reference number, speed tests, the decision and any quote or refusal reason. Our guide on how to complain about a broadband provider covers the escalation route in more detail.