Original article Total Telecom:Read More

Press Release

The facility strengthens Netomnia’s position as the UK’s fastest-growing Alt-Net, supporting its path to profitability in 2025 and rollout target of five million premises by 2027.

Netomnia, the UK’s second-largest alternative network provider (Alt-Net), has completed its £300 million junior debt raise. This includes £160 million from existing investors I Squared Capital and Palistar Capital, originally part of the May 2025 funding, and an additional £140 million subscribed through increased commitments from I Squared Capital and Palistar Capital alongside new lenders Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) and Bain Capital. This latest investment builds on Netomnia’s £880 million senior debt commitment, bringing total debt funding support to £1.2 billion.

Netomnia, together with YouFibre and brsk, now serves 2.7 million premises serviceable and 375,000 premises connected. With an annual build rate of one million premises, Netomnia is on track to achieve three million premises serviceable by the end of 2025 and is targeting five million by the end of 2027. The group has also achieved positive EBITDA.

“The last funding round was oversubscribed, showing the clear demand for Netomnia from both new and existing lenders,” said Jeremy Chelot, Group CEO of Netomnia, YouFibre, and brsk, “This £140 million extension reinforces confidence in our ability to deliver at scale while staying firmly on track with our build plan and profitability targets. Our mission remains clear: connecting millions more homes and businesses with the UK’s most powerful internet.”

“Netomnia has established itself as one of the UK’s leading digital infrastructure players, combining rapid rollout with cost efficiency while driving the delivery of critical connectivity across the UK. RMB is proud to partner Netomnia and its shareholder grouping once again as part of our sponsor led strategy”** Robert Leon, Global Co-head of IBD and Sponsor Client Segment at RMB David Haswell, a Director at Bain Capital, added**: “Bain Capital is delighted to support Netomnia as they reshape the UK fibre market by delivering both innovation and resilience in critical infrastructure. The leadership team has an impressive track record of execution and a clear vision for the next phase of bringing affordable, full-fibre connectivity to more UK consumers.”

Supported by Advencap, DigitalBridge, and Soho Square Capital, Netomnia, YouFibre, and brsk remain firmly on track to become the UK’s most scaled and capital-efficient retail, wholesale, and consolidation platforms.

Join the UK’s biggest digital economy event, Connected Britain on 24-25 September 

Also in the news:
US judge rules Huawei must face charges of fraud and racketeering
Optus ditches football rights to focus on telecoms
Nokia launches digital twin platform Enscryb to digitalise energy sector

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Edinburgh-based UK alternative network GoFibre, which is rolling out a gigabit broadband (FTTP) network across remote parts of rural Scotland and Northern England, has today announced the first four charities in North Northumberland to secure investment under their community fund.

Just to recap. The GoFurther Fund offers grants worth up to £3,000 to help local charity projects and community organisations in the regions of Aberdeenshire, Angus, Fife, East Lothian and the Scottish Borders etc. But in March 2025 (here) this was extended to include their network build areas in North Northumberland too, with local projects invited to apply for a slice of the £15,000 allocated to that region.

The fund forms part of GoFibre’s delivery of their state aid backed Project Gigabit contract, which sees them committing to various social value initiatives that will bring wider benefits to local communities. In North Northumberland, GoFibre is building its gigabit-capable broadband (FTTP) network to over 3,750 more homes and businesses through Project Gigabit (7,500+ premises in the region have already been covered by the provider).

• Hospice Care North Northumberland (Berwick / Alnwick): £3,000
• Border Links (Berwick / Scottish Borders): £2,700
• Inky Fingers Art Club (Wooler): £2,914.85
• Berwick Rangers Juniors Youth Development Trust (Berwick): £2,000

Meanwhile the operators network build in North Northumberland already covers parts of Berwick, Wooler, Belford, Seahouses, Beadnell, Bamburgh, Cornhill-on-Tweed, Eglingham, Harbottle, Otterburn and Milfield, as well as Ladykirk, Upsettlington and parts of Coldstream in Scotland.

Neil Conaghan, Chief Executive Officer at GoFibre, said:

“We know that charities continue to play a valuable role within communities, bringing people together and supporting vulnerable individuals. This is why we set up the GoFurther Fund.

These organisations have been chosen as the first winners in North Northumberland for each making the kind of positive impact within the local community that the GoFurther Fund is designed to support.

Through everything we do at GoFibre, we are all about connecting communities in as many ways as possible, building long-standing relationships and contributing much-needed funding where we can to make sure our network has a lasting impact.”

Key projects supported to date, by the fund, include education and employability initiatives for young people, as well as efforts to help tackle loneliness and social isolation and after-school support activities designed to empower young people from all backgrounds. For organisations in GoFibre’s build area who wish to apply, more information on the funding criteria and how to apply is available at gofibre.co.uk/gofurtherfund.

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

News

Telecoms infrastructure provider Speed Fibre Group has officially completed its acquisition of BT Communications Ireland Limited (BTCIL), marking a significant consolidation in the Irish telecommunications market. The deal, valued at €22 million, sees Speed Fibre take ownership of BTCIL’s domestic network infrastructure, co-location facilities, and wholesale and enterprise customer bases.

Speed Fibre Group, which owns the Irish fibre operators Enet and Magnet+, will integrate BTCIL’s operations into these two brands. Enet will continue serving wholesale customers, while Magnet+ will focus on enterprise businesses. The acquisition is expected to generate significant synergies, allowing for greater scale, deeper building connectivity, increased customer choice nationwide, better value, expanded reach, and enhanced service quality.

This acquisition significantly expands Speed Fibre Group’s network footprint to nearly 10,000 kilometres of fibre optic cable, connecting 94 towns and cities across Ireland and over 6,000 buildings, including more than 2,500 in Dublin alone.

The deal also secures a long-term agreement for BT and Speed Fibre Group to continue sourcing connectivity from each other, ensuring service continuity for both organisations and their customers.

“This acquisition also aligns with our long-term plans to future proof Ireland’s telecommunications landscape and support Ireland’s growing digital economy,” said Speed Fibre Group’s CEO Peter McCarthy.

Speed Fibre Group is owned by the London-listed investment company Cordiant Digital Infrastructure Limited, which sees the acquisition as a strategic investment advancing its digital infrastructure portfolio in Ireland.

The acquisition was first announced in February this year and had to undergo customary conditions, including approval by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), which was recieved in April.

BT Communications Ireland, prior to the sale, managed approximately 3,400 kilometres of fibre and served around 400 customers across telecoms, enterprise, and government sectors. Despite the sale of this wholesale and enterprise business unit, BT retains a separate presence in Ireland, focusing on cloud, security, and multinational connectivity services, with an estimated 400 employees spread across these operations.

The divestment represents the latest step in BT’s journey to streamline its operations and pare back its international businesses.

“We are delighted to conclude this successful transaction which represents the next step in our strategy to become a more agile and focused business. We will continue to invest in this important market for our multinational customers to provide them with secure multi-cloud connectivity and deliver on our purpose to connect for good,” said Bas Burger, CEO of BT International.

Join the UK’s biggest digital economy event, Connected Britain on 24-25 September 

Also in the news:
US judge rules Huawei must face charges of fraud and racketeering
Optus ditches football rights to focus on telecoms
Nokia launches digital twin platform Enscryb to digitalise energy sector

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

ISPreview has discovered that the Crawley Borough Council (CBC) in West Sussex (England) has just awarded the ITS Technology Group with a contract for their new £1.5 million (state aid) project, which aims to provide every business in Manor Royal (business park) with the ability to connect to gigabit broadband.

The new network, which is being supported by funding from the previous Government’s £3.6bn Towns Fund programme (details), is expected to be built using a combination of new infrastructure, as well as reusing existing assets (e.g. ducts).

Whilst the provision of gigabit-capable connectivity to the Manor Royal business park is the “minimum requirement” for this project, elements of the funding may also be used for complimentary initiatives to further enhance the economic benefit. Such initiatives may potentially involve extending the network and deploying FTTP to other regions within Crawley, as well as possibly a resilient backhaul fibre route to connect the nearby business parks of Lowfield Heath and Three Bridges (this is still tentative).

In addition, there may also be indirect benefits to residents as the infrastructure could support additional FTTP broadband deployment within the town, which would bring further choice for consumers and enable Crawley to be a truly ‘digital’ town. But that may require additional private investment to realise.

Contract Description

Up to GBP1.5 million in funding has been secured through the UK Government’s Towns Fund initiative for this project, and will be allocated towards the deployment of fibre-to-the-premise (FTTP) digital infrastructure throughout the Manor Royal business park, enabling access to gigabit-capable connectivity for 100% of premises in the park. As such, the Council is seeking to engage a partner to build, operate, maintain and commercialise this network.

The establishment of a commercial partnership, achieved through a combination of public and private investment, is central to maximising the project’s economic benefit, by increasing the capital that can be deployed and thereby expanding the potential FTTP coverage across Crawley.

Just for some context. The Manor Royal Business District is the biggest business park of the Gatwick Diamond area and one of the South East’s premier mixed activity employment hubs. Situated on the Sussex and Surrey county borders adjacent to London Gatwick Airport, it covers an area of 540 acres and is home to over 600 businesses generating 30,000 jobs.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Streaming platform provider Roku UK has announced the imminent roll-out of their “first-ever” FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV) channels. A total of 40 FAST channels are due to go live across the company’s Apps, TVs and streaming boxes at no extra cost, starting from October next month.

Just to recap. Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television (FAST) channels require a broadband connection for internet access and tend to reflect special dedicated channels that usually only offer content and schedules based on either a single TV show or theme. Roku has already deployed FAST channels in North and South America, but they’re now also brining them to the UK.

The new UK lineup will include channels dedicated to popular series and genres, with content spanning entertainment, lifestyle, true crime, classic TV, documentaries, and more. New channels include PGA TOUR for golf, This Old House for home and garden, Unsolved Mysteries for crime, NatureTime for wildlife, Love Pets for animals, and more.

FAST Channels can be accessed through The Roku Channel and new Live TV zone. The Roku Channel is available exclusively on Roku streaming players and Roku TV models in the UK. Roku also offers What to Watch, featuring personalised recommendations on all devices in the UK, and recently launched two new streaming players.

Richard Halton, Country Manager of Roku UK, said:

“With the launch of our first FAST channels in the UK this October, we’re giving viewers more choice than ever before – from iconic series and films to new favourites and niche genres – all for free. It’s an exciting step forward as we continue to expand and open up new opportunities for advertisers to reach highly engaged audiences.”

The full lineup of FAST channels will be announced in the near future and just ahead of the launch, although we don’t know why they couldn’t just confirm it today.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Tewkesbury-based network operator Netomnia (Brsk, Youfibre), which has so far deployed their full fibre broadband (FTTP) lines to cover 2.7 million UK premises (375,000 customers), has today announced another major funding boost by successfully completing a £300 million junior debt raise, including an additional £140 million from new and existing investors.

The funding includes £160m from existing investors I Squared Capital and Palistar Capital, originally part of the May 2025 funding announcement (here), and an additional £140m subscribed through increased commitments from I Squared Capital and Palistar Capital alongside new lenders Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) and Bain Capital. The investment builds on Netomnia’s £880m senior debt commitment, bringing total debt funding support to £1.2 billion.

The announcement also confirms that Netomnia has now achieved positive EBITDA (i.e. earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation). The ability to achieve a positive EBITDA can indicate that a company’s core operations are starting to become profitable (banks use this to help assess whether a company is able to pay off its debts). But this doesn’t fully consider everything (e.g. non-core financial expense), and there’s still a long road ahead to payback.

Jeremy Chelot, Group CEO, said:

“The last funding round was oversubscribed, showing the clear demand for Netomnia from both new and existing lenders. This £140 million extension reinforces confidence in our ability to deliver at scale while staying
firmly on track with our build plan and profitability targets. Our mission remains clear: connecting millions more homes and businesses with the UK’s most powerful internet.”

Robert Leon, Global Co-head of IBD and Sponsor Client Segment at RMB, said:

“Netomnia has established itself as one of the UK’s leading digital infrastructure players, combining rapid rollout with cost efficiency while driving the delivery of critical connectivity across the UK. RMB is proud to partner Netomnia and its shareholder grouping once again as part of our sponsor led strategy.”

The network operator concluded by saying that they “remain firmly on track to become the UK’s most scaled and capital-efficient retail, wholesale, and consolidation platforms“. The fact that their network coverage has increased by 140,000 premises since the last update on 23rd July 2025 is also significant and shows that they’re still deep into the roll-out phase, and during a period when many other alternative networks have stalled.

Breaking news.. more to follow..

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The Speed Fibre Group, which is an open access fibre infrastructure provider (managing or owning 5,400km of fibre) that is ultimately backed by Cordiant Capital, has today announced that they’ve completed the previously announced (here) acquisition of BT’s Irish wholesale fibre and enterprise business unit (BT Communications Ireland Ltd.).

The transaction, which forms part of BT Group UK’s continued efforts to reduce their international operations, includes BT’s domestic network infrastructure, over 400 customers across a c.3,400km network of owned and operated fibre, and associated teams supporting wholesale fibre and business enterprises.

The deal also comprises a long-term agreement for BT and Speed Fibre Group to source connectivity for their respective customers from each other, which supports BT’s desire to “retain a strong presence in the Irish market to deliver connectivity, cloud and security services to multinationals and large organisations“.

Post-transaction, BT still expects to maintain over 400 employees in Ireland, with offices in Dublin and regionally, and connections to BT’s global network infrastructure and propositions. The deal does NOT include BTCIL’s customer base of multinationals, large Irish organisations, the Emergency Call Answering Service (ECAS), associated employees, and the recently divested data centre business.

Statement by Cordiant Digital Infrastructure Limited

The acquisition of BTCIL enhances Speed Fibre’s ability to deliver advanced connectivity solutions through the integration of BTCIL’s complementary capabilities and domestic customer base. By combining resources, Speed Fibre expects to achieve greater operational efficiencies and deliver a broader range of connectivity products and services for customers across Ireland, supporting the growing requirements of hyperscale and edge data centres, multi-nationals, local Irish businesses, and government agencies.

The expanded network will be well placed to support the increasing capacity needed to underpin the rapid uptake in artificial intelligence (AI) applications. This addition to the Speed Fibre platform represents a significant step in CORD’s strategy to build platforms at scale in line with its Buy, Build & Grow model in key digital markets such as Ireland.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Some customers of mobile network operator O2 (Virgin Media), specifically those on their Pay As You Go (PAYG) plans, this week began to notice the sudden appearance of Wi-Fi Calling on their service (ISPreview Forum) and 4G Calling (VoLTE) is also expected to follow by the end of this year.

O2’s PAYG plans have long lacked support for 5G (mobile broadband), WiFi Calling (Voice over WiFi) and 4G Calling (Voice over LTE). But earlier this month that all started to change after the operator finally began to deploy 5G support (here) and they now seem to be in the process of adding WiFi Calling too. A spokesperson for VMO2 confirmed to ISPreview that they were indeed “starting to roll this service out in phases to our customer base“.

Just to recap. VoWiFi enables consumers with a supporting Smartphone and mobile operator to harness their home broadband connection, or another WiFi network, to make mobile voice calls (and sometimes also texts), instead of using your mobile (2G, 4G or 5G) network. The feature is extremely useful, particularly when away from a good mobile signal, but support can still be patchy between different networks and devices.

The change is not unexpected as the operator recently confirmed, as part of their 3G switch-off strategy, that “4G & WiFi calling will be available for Pay As You Go customers by the end of 2025“. But it often takes several months for such phased deployments to reach completion, thus starting that process around now does make sense (i.e. if they hope to deliver it by the end of the year).

The catch is that some of those PAYG customers who initially reported seeing VoWiFi going live have since seen it disappear again, which will hopefully be rectified as their deployment continues. As for 4G Calling, we haven’t seen any signs of that one yet, but historically VoWiFi and VoLTE have tended to be deployed at around the same time by other operators (VoLTE just allows calls to go via 4G instead of the older 2G network).

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The Digital Poverty Alliance (DPA) has published a new briefing that warns how Social Tariffs from UK broadband and mobile providers, which offer significant cost savings to those on state benefits (e.g. Pension Credit, Universal Credit etc.), continue to suffer from three “critical flaws” – minimal awareness, inconsistent quality and affordability.

According to Ofcom’s most recent December 2024 report (here), the take-up of cheaper Social Tariffs (telecoms) for those on state benefits jumped to 506,000 customers in June 2024 (up from 380,000 in Sept 2023). But that’s still just 9.6% of eligible households – the number of households claiming Universal Credit also increased to 5.3 million during this period (up from 4.6m at the last report).

In the past, very few people even knew Social Tariffs existed, which tended to only be offered by a couple of providers, such as BT and KCOM. But the last government, partly in response to the cost-of-living crisis, worked closely with Ofcom to change that and thus fostered a huge rise in both the availability, promotion, capabilities and awareness of such packages.

However, Ofcom’s data from January 2025 indicated that 5.3 million households – around 23% – were still struggling to pay for their communications services and take-up of Social Tariffs remains low (although we don’t yet know how much this has changed through 2025). The DPA’s new briefing thus identifies three “critical flaws” in such tariffs. Firstly, awareness is still said to be “minimal“, with tariffs “poorly promoted and often accessible only through online applications that lock out those already excluded“.

Secondly, quality is said to be inconsistent. For example, while some providers offer unlimited broadband, others “impose strict limits or cap speeds” at around 30Mbps – “far below what families need for work, education, or healthcare“. But we think that statement is a little unfair, since social tariffs are only supposed to be a basic entry-level option and 30Mbps is usually enough for most tasks, albeit clearly not a premium experience.

Finally, affordability is also said to still be an “obstacle” because, even at a reduced rate, tariffs can still be “out of reach for households already unable to cover essential bills“. The difficultly here is that commercial ISPs are not charities and it’s already hard enough for anybody to make a profit in today’s competitive market. But it’s similarly unrealistic to expect broadband ISPs to sell products at below cost price.

Elizabeth Anderson, CEO of the Digital Poverty Alliance, said:

“Affordable, reliable broadband must be treated as a basic utility, not a luxury. Social tariffs can reduce digital poverty, but only if they are promoted properly, standardised across providers, and accessible to every household that needs them.”

The idea of “standardising” social tariffs would be extremely difficult for a market with so many different underlying broadband networks and technologies – where coverage and performance aren’t always the same from one location to another (telecoms is more complex than gas, water or electricity). For example, you can’t very well offer 30Mbps, 50Mbps or 100Mbps in an area where only slower speeds are technically possible (e.g. ADSL-only areas or those on longer FTTC lines).

Equally, many providers are currently operating under significant financial strain due to the rising cost of network builds, energy and high interest rates etc. Suffice to say that what’s viable for one is not going to be viable for another, which is why a one-size-fits-all approach isn’t currently workable.

However, the DPA does recognise that social tariffs are “not a cure-all“, but it also warns that without reform they will continue to fall short. “Connectivity must be recognised as a public good – central to full participation in society,” said the DPA. In order to deliver on this they make several familiar recommendations, such as removing VAT from social tariffs (this often comes up, but no government has ever done it) and various other things.

DPA Recommendations for Social Tariffs

• Central government should remove VAT from social tariffs, lowering costs further and reinforcing the principle that digital connectivity is a basic utility.

• Government and industry should collaborate to establish a co-funded, standardised, industry-wide social tariff, ensuring that offers are consistent, reliable, and accessible regardless of provider or geography.

• Awareness campaigns should be delivered across mixed media, combining trusted national organisations with local channels. Messaging must be simple, transparent, and free of jargon, with offline options for application to ensure that those already excluded are not left behind.

• All government correspondence with benefit recipients – including letters about Universal Credit or welfare entitlements – should include clear information on social tariffs and how to access them.

• Providers should guarantee sufficient speeds and reliability on social tariffs, ensuring they meet the needs of households relying on digital access for education, healthcare, and employment. Substandard or restricted services risk reinforcing exclusion rather than addressing it.

Finally, a quick reminder. We know social tariffs can be a divisive topic for some, but that is not an excuse to abuse the comment system in order to post offensive remarks toward those who take state benefits. Such posts are against our rules and will be removed.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Some customers of mobile network operator O2 (Virgin Media), specifically those on 30 day rolling SIM Only contracts, have informed ISPreview of how they’ve just been notified that they will be hit by a sharp price hike from 1st October 2025 (in many cases this equates to an increase of c.12%).

The increase has also been confirmed by one of O2’s support agents on their Community Forum: “As part of a recent tariff review, we’re making a small adjustment to prices for customers on a specific set of 30-day rolling SIM Only plans. This change helps ensure greater consistency across our customer base and keeps our pricing in line with the wider market.”

The customer email itself (credits to forum member insertfloppydiskhere for sharing) states: “From 1 October 2025, the cost of your Airtime Plan will increase by £3 a month. Remember, this price rise is only for your Airtime Plan – what you’re paying for your device will stay the same.”

The only good news is that, on a short 30-day plan, customers who wish to leave can easily do so without penalty.