List of Telecom Companies in the UK

Last updated 2 November 2026

There are 16,905 telecom companies in the UK, one in every 523 UK companies. Most of them are small: nine in ten have one to four people, and only 288 firms employ 50 people or more. Seven in ten of all telecom firms are based in London, South East, North West, East of England and West Midlands. Below you find the largest telecom firms in the UK, the regions where they cluster, how many started this year and which are the oldest. The full list with addresses, phone numbers and email is in our UK company database or through the Companies House API.

16,905 companies indexed · Data counted on 2 November 2026

Companies16,9051 in523 UK companiesRegions12Largest regionLondon 4,564Sole traders4%Employees1-4 (87%)Revenue< $100K (45%)Email14%Phone34%Website32%

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A live view of all 16,905 telecom firms, sorted by revenue. Narrow it by region, city, employee size, revenue, legal form or founding year, or search a firm by name.

British Telecommunications LIMITEDBritish Telecommunications LIMITED

	Company Name	Country	City	Address 1	State/Province	Postal Code	Website	Founding Year	Yearly Revenue in U.S. Dollars	Employees Total	Business Legal Type - Description	Number of Companies in Group	Company Registration Number
1	British Telecommunications LIMITED	Unitedkingdom	Whitechapel	1 Braham Street	London	E1 8EE	*****.com	1984	$26,631,327,232	84,000	Corporation	1084	01800000
2	Converse Mobile LTD	Unitedkingdom	Holborn-strand-covent Garden	5th Floor	London	W1W 5PF	N/A	2023	$14,929,121,593	4	Corporation	N/A	15206478
3	Vodafone Consolidated Holdings LIMITED	Unitedkingdom	Newbury	Vodafone House	West Berkshire	RG14 2FN	*****.uk	2006	$6,869,092,863	77	Corporation	2721	05754561
4	Virgin Media LIMITED	Unitedkingdom	Caversham Heights	500 Brook Drive	Reading	RG2 6UU	*****.uk	1991	$4,986,581,804	10,434	Corporation	210	02591237
5	Virgin Media Finance PLC	Unitedkingdom	Caversham Heights	500 Brook Drive	Reading	RG2 6UU	*****.uk	2004	$4,318,015,618	12,169	Corporation	210	05061787
6	Vodafone Group Services LIMITED	Unitedkingdom	Newbury	Fao Teresa Dean-lee	West Berkshire	RG14 2FN	*****.uk	1984	$3,323,366,030	2,690	Corporation	2721	03802001
7	Telecom Plus PLC	Unitedkingdom	Friern Barnet	Network Hq	London	NW9 5AB	*****.uk	1996	$2,630,147,763	2,061	Corporation	32	03263464
8	Openreach LIMITED	Unitedkingdom	City of London	6 Gracechurch Street	London	EC3V 0AT	*****.uk	2017	$2,364,899,577	27,017	Corporation	1084	10690039
9	Connect Bidco LIMITED	Unitedkingdom	Finsbury	99 City Road	London	EC1Y 1AX	N/A	2019	$2,214,741,000	1,872	Foreign company	3	FC037358
10	Sky Telecommunications Services LIMITED	Unitedkingdom	Cranford	Sky Business	London	TW7 5QD	*****.com	1993	$2,043,503,384	331	Corporation	143	02883980
11	Ciena Global Products Company, LTD.	Unitedkingdom	Shoreditch	11 Floor	London	EC2A 3NG	*****.com	2020	$1,861,136,415	2	Corporation	33	13064681
12	Talktalk Telecom Group LIMITED	Unitedkingdom	Media City UK	Soapworks	Manchester, Greater Manchester	M5 3TT	*****.uk	2009	$1,754,880,196	1,570	Corporation	90	07105891
13	Talktalk Holdings LIMITED	Unitedkingdom	Media City UK	Soapworks	Manchester, Greater Manchester	M5 3TT	*****.uk	2020	$1,754,880,196	1,570	Corporation	90	12903683
14	Tnt Sports Broadcasting LIMITED	Unitedkingdom	Chiswick	Chiswick Park Building 2	London	W4 5YB	N/A	2021	$1,569,785,571	34	Corporation	N/A	13545383
15	Vodafone European Investments	Unitedkingdom	Newbury	Vodafone House	West Berkshire	RG14 2FN	*****.uk	2000	$1,481,957,088	12	Corporation	2721	03961908
16	Cable & Wireless Worldwide LIMITED	Unitedkingdom	Holborn	3rd Floor	London	WC1R 4HQ	*****.com	2009	$1,431,448,529	6,510	Corporation	2721	07029206
17	Telewest Communications (scotland) LIMITED	Unitedkingdom	Woking	34 South Gyle Crescent	Surrey	GU21 5QX	N/A	1982	$1,355,527,270	10,000	Corporation	210	SC080891
18	Sky Cp LIMITED	Unitedkingdom	Isleworth	Centaurs Business Centre	London	TW7 5QD	*****.com	2015	$1,303,177,096	3,478	Corporation	143	09513259
19	Cable & Wireless LIMITED	Unitedkingdom	Earls Court	120 Kings Road	London	SW3 4TR	*****.com	1929	$1,172,481,041	134	Corporation	194	00238525
20	Ciena Global Distribution Company, LTD.	Unitedkingdom	Shoreditch	11 Floor	London	EC2A 3NG	*****.com	2021	$924,581,902	11	Corporation	2	13139181
21	Talktalk Telecom LIMITED	Unitedkingdom	Kensington	11 Evesham Street	London	W11 4AR	*****.com	2003	$886,254,270	499	Corporation	90	04633015
22	Vodafone Sales & Services LIMITED	Unitedkingdom	Newbury	Vodafone House	West Berkshire	RG14 2FN	*****.com	2009	$851,179,542	48	Corporation	2721	06844137
23	Giffgaff LIMITED	Unitedkingdom	Uxbridge	Belmont House	London	UB8 1HE	*****.uk	2001	$838,227,453	299	Corporation	502	04196996
24	Cable And Wireless (investments) LIMITED	Unitedkingdom	Earls Court	120 Kings Road	London	SW3 4TR	N/A	1929	$745,539,998	5,500	Corporation	194	00244080
25	Orange Brand Services LIMITED	Unitedkingdom	Dulwich	3 More London Riverside	London	SE1 2AQ	*****.com	1988	$654,682,449	207	Corporation	3805	02266684

Showing 25 of 16,905 companies

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Telecom firms in London

London has 4,564 telecom companies and telecom firms, 0.2% of all 1,945,804 London companies and 23% above the national share. Nine in ten London firms have fewer than five people; 84 have 50 or more. 330 new firms were entered in 2026, 31 date from before 1990.

Size

1-4 staff: 3,849 · 87%
5-9: 268 · 6%
10-19: 125 · 3%
20-49: 106 · 2%
50+: 84 · 2%

Legal form

Sole traders: 113 · 2%
Partnerships: 14 · 0.3%
Ltd and PLC: 4,229 · 93%
Other or none: 208 · 5%

Of the UK total: 27.0%
Of all London companies: 0.2%
Against the national share: 1.2×

New

Entered 2026 so far: 330
Entered 2025: 536
Of UK's 2026 entries: 39.2%

Old

Before 1990: 31 · 0.7%
1990 or later: 4,533 · 99%
Of UK's pre-1990 firms: 16.8%

Reachable

Email: 699 · 15%
Phone: 1,492 · 33%
Website: 1,464 · 32%

Revenue (USD)

Under $100K: 1,971 · 44%
$100K-$500K: 1,693 · 38%
$500K-$1M: 240 · 5%
$1M and more: 555 · 12%

Largest

127,017
26,510
35,500
43,478
5Foreign company1,872

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Largest telecom firms in the UK

The biggest firms by staff and by revenue, the largest in London, the biggest newcomers of 2026 and the oldest firms. Click a name for the record.

Openreach is the largest telecom firm in the UK by headcount. 288 firms employ 50 people or more; 151 employ 100 or more.

1London27,017 staff
2Reading10,434 staff
3London6,510 staff
4Falkirk5,870 staff
5London5,500 staff
6London3,478 staff
7Hertfordshire2,466 staff
8LondonForeign company1,872 staff
9London1,724 staff
10London1,405 staff

By employee size · 16,463 firms with a known headcount

Employees	Firms	%
1-4	14,253	87%
5-9	1,030	6%
10-19	521	3%
20-49	371	2%
50-99	137	0.8%
100-199	62	0.4%
200-499	59	0.4%
500-999	16	<0.1%
1,000+	14	<0.1%

87% have 1 to 4 people; 371 have 20 to 49; 288 have 50 or more.

By yearly revenue (USD)

Revenue	Firms	%
< $100K	7,424	45%
$100K-$500K	6,427	39%
$500K-$1M	978	6%
$1M-$5M	926	6%
$5M-$10M	261	2%
$10M-$50M	344	2%
$50M-$100M	58	0.4%
$100M-$500M	68	0.4%
$500M+	30	0.2%

45% under $100,000; 926 between $1M and $5M; 761 above $5M.

Where in the UK?

London has the most telecom companies in the UK (4,564), ahead of South East (2,774), North West (1,655), East of England (1,655) and West Midlands (1,258). Together the five hold seven in ten of them. Relative to their size, London, South East and East of England have the most: 1.0 to 1.2 times the national share.

Regions by number of firms

12 UK regions have at least one telecom firm; 12 have ten or more; 0 have exactly one. Click a region to set the lens.

Only here

Where they cluster

Telecom firms per 100 companies, in regions with at least 100 of them. The national share is 0.19. London has 1.2 times the national share.

1.2×
1.2×
1.0×
1.0×
1.0×
0.9×
0.9×
0.9×
0.8×
0.8×
0.7×
0.6×

Dashed line: the national share. A filled dot is twice the national share or more.

How many telecom companies are there in the UK?

Telecom companies and telecom firms in the UK

16,905

2 November 2026

There are 16,905 telecom companies and telecom firms in the UK in our data (2 November 2026). That is one in every 523 UK companies. About 4 new firms are entered in the register every working day this year (842 so far in 2026).

Structure

Single-site firms: 15,710 93%
Head offices: 819
Branch offices: 376

Classification

Our platform filter is the national code 61.

15,104 of the 16,905 are Ltd and PLC (89%); 725 are sole traders. They come from Companies House and our UK register data, through the Companies House API.

Firm sizes in the UK

Of the 16,463 UK telecom firms with a known headcount, 14,253 (87%) have one to four people, 1,030 have five to nine, 892 have ten to 49 and 288 have 50 or more. Most firms turn over under $100,000 a year (7,424, 45%).

EU size bands · the grey line shows all UK companies

Micro under 1015,283 93%
Small 10 to 49892 5%
Medium 50 to 249258 2%
Large 250+30 0.2%

Grey line: the share among all UK companies (93% have under ten staff).

761

firms turn over more than $5 million a year; 500 more than $10 million.

842

firms were entered in 2026.

How they compare

Next to related industries

There are 8 media companies for every telecom firm in the UK.

Industry	Firms	Website	1-4 staff
Media Companies	138,206	21%	92%
Telecom Companies	16,905	32%	84%
Printing Companies	14,146	62%	76%

In other countries

The UK has more telecom firms than Belgium or Sweden.

Country	Firms	Per 1,000 cos.
The UK	16,905	1.9
Belgium	6,772	2.8
Sweden	1,701	0.9

More countries →

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How reachable are they?

Telecom firms are easier to reach than the average UK company: 34% list a phone number and 32% a website.

Email2,303 14%
Phone5,677 34%
Website5,402 32%

Grey line: all UK companies (email 15%, phone 30%, website 30%).

The full list with these fields is in our UK company database.

The oldest firms in the UK

Our data holds 4 UK telecom firms from before 1900, 23 from before 1950 and 184 from before 1990.

1872
1. London
1877
1. London
1885
1. London
1900
1. Manchester
1900
1. West Berkshire
1900
1. Saint Helens

Older than you

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1990

184

UK telecom firms date from before 1990

were entered in 1990

Newcomers in the UK in 2026

842 telecom firms were entered in the UK register so far in 2026, about 4 a working day, after 1,451 in 2025. The UK as a whole saw 534,395 new companies in 2026, so this industry takes 0.2% of the inflow.

7782022
9252023
9882024
1,4512025
8422026 so far

841 of this year's 842 are Ltd and PLC.

The biggest newcomers of 2026

The year is the register entry; an established firm that changes legal form appears as new.

1Manchester18 staff
2Staffordshire9 staff
3Surrey7 staff
4Cambridgeshire6 staff
5Hertfordshire5 staff

Sole traders or Ltd: how they are organised

One in twenty-three UK telecom firms work as sole traders, against 7% of all UK companies. Nine in ten are Ltd and PLC.

Sole traders7254%
Partnerships (partnerships and LLPs)1290.8%
Ltd and PLC15,10489%
No form on record or other9476%

Single-site: 93%
Head offices: 819
Branches: 376

All UK companies: 7% sole traders, 3% partnerships, 62% Ltd and PLC.

Frequently asked questions

How many telecom companies are there in the UK?

There are 16,905 telecom companies and telecom firms in the UK in our data, counted on 2 November 2026. That is one in every 523 UK companies.

Which is the largest telecom firm in the UK?

Openreach in London, with 27,017 staff. By revenue British Telecommunications in London leads with $26.6 billion a year.

Which UK region has the most telecom companies?

London, with 4,564, ahead of South East (2,774), North West (1,655), East of England (1,655) and West Midlands (1,258).

How many telecom firms are there in London?

4,564, which is 0.2% of all 1,945,804 London companies and 23% above the national share.

How big is a typical telecom firm?

Small. 87% of the 16,463 firms with a known headcount have one to four people; 288 have 50 or more. Most turn over under $100,000 a year.

Are UK telecom companies sole traders or companies?

One in twenty-three (725) are sole traders, 0.8% are partnerships and 89% (15,104) are Ltd and PLC.

How many telecom firms started in 2026?

842 were entered in the UK register so far in 2026, after 1,451 in 2025. 841 of them are Ltd and PLC.

What is the oldest telecom firm in the UK?

Eastern Telegraph Company Limited(the) in London, 1872, followed by Cable and Wireless (West Indies) in London (1877) and Datasync in London (1885). 4 firms date from before 1900.

Which industry code covers telecom companies?

Our platform filters them on the national code 61.

Can I download the full list?

Yes. All 16,905 firms with address, phone, email, legal form, employees, revenue and founding year, as Excel, CSV or through the API.

Discover more: related industries, by region, in other countries

The lists closest to this one. Every industry and city in the UK is on the UK page.

Information and communication

Companies in UK cities

Europe

Americas

Telecom Companies in the USA

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