1.6 million kilometres of UK broadband cable is at risk from a spade
Key Points
- Only 26% of the UK telecoms network is registered on LSBUD's free digging check
- 1,600,000 kilometres of cable remain unprotected from accidental strikes
- Third-party faults caused around 14% of UK broadband incidents in 2025, per Ofcom
- Telecoms firms made 1,444,280 searches but register far less of their own network
- Gas coverage sits at 100% while water is at just 20%
Only 26% of the UK’s telecoms network is registered on free digging check service LinesearchbeforeUdig (LSBUD), leaving 1,600,000 kilometres of cable unprotected from accidental strikes.
The figure comes from LSBUD’s Digging Up Britain 2026 report, which covers the 4,094,214 searches made through its portal in 2025 by contractors, utilities and households checking for buried assets before breaking ground.
The service holds records for more than 170 network operators, but LSBUD said the gaps in telecoms registration leave the sector exposed.
Telecoms companies are the heaviest users of the search service, with 1,444,280 searches made on their behalf in 2025, or 36.2% of the total. Openreach, BT and Virgin Media occupied the top three positions on the list of most frequent searchers.
Searching protects a company’s own workers from hitting other operators’ pipes and cables. Registering a network does the opposite, making it visible to anyone else who searches before digging nearby.
Ofcom’s Connected Nations report found third-party faults accounted for around 14% of broadband service incidents reported in the UK during 2025. Some of that figure came from failed backhaul circuits at wholesale providers, but it included street works causing cable breakages.
LSBUD cited a Common Ground Alliance whitepaper that found the telecommunications network is the most damaged utility. Fibre cables sit at relatively shallow depths and are often the first service a digger encounters.
“Every telecommunications service strike disrupts essential connectivity creating significant inconvenience for those who rely on our network to stay connected and productive,” said Victoria Chadwick, WHSE Director at Voneus Limited. “It also puts teams at risk and has knock-on financial implications in terms of repair and rectification costs.”
The picture differs sharply across other utilities. LSBUD covers 100% of Great Britain’s 550,000-kilometre gas distribution network and the vast majority of the electricity network after Advanced Electricity Networks and UK Power Distribution joined in 2025.
Water sits alongside telecoms as the other major gap, with just 20% of the UK’s water network registered and 807,500 kilometres of pipe unprotected. Twelve of the 20 biggest searchers on the platform were water companies.
Nine organisations added their networks to the service in 2025, including Virgin Media O2, Indigo Networks and Mutual Energy. LSBUD said 30% of the UK’s underground assets remain unaccounted for on the platform.
Cadent Gas appeared in 1,648,901 search results during 2025, and National Grid Electricity Distribution appeared in almost one million. Across the top 10 registered asset owners, LSBUD said the service prevented more than 5.8 million potential strikes.
The Government has committed around £1.9 billion in capital investment up to 2029-30 to continue delivery of Project Gigabit and the Shared Rural Network. LSBUD said telecoms-related searches will likely continue to hold strong as a result.
