# Gigabit broadband coverage: highest and lowest councils in North East (January 2026)

Hartlepool had the highest gigabit broadband coverage of North East’s 12 councils in January 2026, at 96.9%.

Northumberland had the lowest, at 82.1%. The middle council, Darlington, had 92.7%.

| Rank | Area | Gigabit broadband coverage |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [Hartlepool](https://openindex.co.uk/hartlepool) | 96.9% |
| 2 | [Sunderland](https://openindex.co.uk/sunderland) | 94.7% |
| 3 | [Middlesbrough](https://openindex.co.uk/middlesbrough) | 94.6% |
| 4 | [North Tyneside](https://openindex.co.uk/north-tyneside) | 94.1% |
| 5 | [South Tyneside](https://openindex.co.uk/south-tyneside) | 92.9% |
| 6 | [Darlington](https://openindex.co.uk/darlington) | 92.7% |
| 7 | [Stockton-on-Tees](https://openindex.co.uk/stockton-on-tees) | 92.0% |
| 8 | [Newcastle upon Tyne](https://openindex.co.uk/newcastle-upon-tyne) | 91.2% |
| 9 | [Redcar and Cleveland](https://openindex.co.uk/redcar-and-cleveland) | 90.2% |
| 10 | [Gateshead](https://openindex.co.uk/gateshead) | 89.4% |
| 11 | [County Durham](https://openindex.co.uk/county-durham) | 85.4% |
| 12 | [Northumberland](https://openindex.co.uk/northumberland) | 82.1% |

Source: Connected Nations (Ofcom), Ofcom. Period: January 2026. Period: January 2026.

## Other rankings of this measure

- [UK](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/gigabit-broadband/uk)
- [England](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/gigabit-broadband/england)
- [Northern Ireland](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/gigabit-broadband/northern-ireland)
- [Scotland](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/gigabit-broadband/scotland)
- [Wales](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/gigabit-broadband/wales)
- [North West](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/gigabit-broadband/north-west)
- [Yorkshire and The Humber](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/gigabit-broadband/yorkshire-and-the-humber)
- [East Midlands](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/gigabit-broadband/east-midlands)
- [West Midlands](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/gigabit-broadband/west-midlands)
- [East of England](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/gigabit-broadband/east-of-england)
- [London](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/gigabit-broadband/london)
- [South East](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/gigabit-broadband/south-east)
- [South West](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/gigabit-broadband/south-west)

- [The map](https://openindex.co.uk/map/gigabit-broadband)
- [Source and method](https://openindex.co.uk/sources/gigabit-broadband)

## How to cite

Source: Open Index, openindex.co.uk. Link to this page, https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/gigabit-broadband/north-east.

Open Index's own text and the figures it works out are licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Source data keeps its publishers' licences, named with each figure. Give each figure's period and source with it.

Snapshot 2026.10.11. The HTML page: https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/gigabit-broadband/north-east