Network operator AllPoints Fibre (APFN / Fern Trading), which is the UK wholesale division of Fern Trading’s recently consolidate alternative FTTP broadband ISP networks (Giganet, Jurassic Fibre, and Swish Fibre), has appointed a new Chief Technology Officer (CTO) in the form of industry veteran Ronan Kelly.
Firstly, we don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that, in his former roles at network technology firm Adtran (most recently as EMEA CTO), Ronan Kelly – over a period of 14 long years – became one of the most recognisable and respected faces across the UK broadband industry. A lot of operators, from smaller players and all the way up to behemoths like Openreach, use Adtran’s kit and Ronan was often front and centre of that drive.
Suffice to say, it was quite a notable development when Ronan recently revealed – via his own LinkedIn profile (oddly, Fern/AllPoints Fibre still haven’t issued a press release) – that he had been appointed CTO of AllPoints Fibre.
Securing such a senior industry figure is somewhat of a scoop for the recently consolidated network operator and lends it a notable air of credibility. This is important because, post-consolidation, APFN has thus far been fairly vague when it comes to communicating their future network plans.
Fern Trading has so far only expressed a desire to “accelerate full fibre delivery over the next five years”, albeit without setting many clear targets. Not to mention the fallout after Cuckoo, which is due to act as the retail ISP outlet for the consolidated AFPN, suddenly booted many of its Openreach based FTTC/P customers to a rival internet provider (here).
Ronan Kelly, CEO of APF, said:
“On Monday [I joined] the exceptional team at AllPoints Fibre (APFN) where the 30 years experience I bring will be focused on making APFN “the most recommended way to connect” to the UK’s fantastic fibre infrastructure.
Thank you to everyone in my Adtran family for all the support and belief during this journey, and a most importantly to every single Adtran customer for placing your trust in us. I look forward to continuing all of these relationships as an Adtran customer, and a potential partner for many of Adtran’s customers, in addition to getting to know all the current vendors and partners supporting AllPoints Fibre so far.
This is going to be truly amazing.”
According to Fern Trading’s most recent annual report to June 2023 (here), the operator’s full fibre division is currently serving around 50,000 customers and building in over 100 locations in the UK (although we’ve not had any new build announcements in a long time). “We are on track to be able to deliver full fibre connectivity to 500,000 properties in those towns and villages,” said the report, without clarifying the timescale for this.
Meanwhile, the division has almost doubled its revenue year-on-year, from £9m in 2022 to £16m in the current year. But building a fibre network is capital intensive, which has thus far resulted in a “reported EBITDA loss” of £120m (2022: £56m loss), which is said to be “in line with expectations and reflects the development stage of the division” (this includes extraordinary costs of £13m associated with the recent restructure).
“As we build out these networks, the assets will be recognised on the balance sheet at cost which cannot include future value which is expected to be generated as the assets have been internally generated,” added the report.