Broadband in Dorset

Superfast is the county's dependable layer, available at 94.5% of postcodes and close to the UK norm. Above that, choices narrow. Gigabit-capable coverage is 67.2%, so almost a third of postcodes have no gigabit route, and full fibre reaches 30.8% against a national average of about 69% of premises passed. The distribution is the real story. BH31 records fibre at nearly nine in ten postcodes, BH21 at close to eight in ten and BH22 at around six in ten, while BH23, DT1 and DT10 show none at all. Slow lines are scarce: just 1.7% of postcodes fall below 10Mbps. A county of 32 outward codes was never going to be uniform, yet the strong codes here are strikingly strong and the weak ones empty.

Buyers weighing Dorset addresses should note the pattern in the fibre table. The listed leaders are BH codes, and BH31 in particular comes close to full coverage. Elsewhere the safer assumption is superfast, which at 94.5% rarely disappoints, backed by a below-10Mbps share of only 1.7%. Whether a gigabit service is available is the question that actually divides the county, with a third of postcodes lacking one.