Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

A new report claims that debt-laden Telefonica SA is allegedly drawing up plans that would enable them to take control of the 50/50 UK Joint Venture (JV) that it owns with Liberty Global, which reflects broadband and mobile provider Virgin Media and O2 (VMO2). In addition, they also have another JV with InfraVia Capital Partners to build a new fibre network in the UK (nexfibre).

The new Bloomberg (paywall) report follows VMO2’s recent quarterly results (here and here), which revealed both a sudden slowdown in nexfibre’s roll-out of their new full fibre (FTTP) broadband ISP network and a “pause” in Virgin Media’s related but technically separate plan to open up their existing fixed broadband network to wholesale via a new NetCo.

Just to recap. Nexfibre is the product of a £4.5bn joint venture (here) between Telefónica, Liberty Global and InfraVia Capital Partners, which originally aimed to deploy an open access full fibre network to reach “up to” 7 million UK homes (starting with 5m by 2026) in areas NOT served by Virgin Media’s own network of 16m+ premises (Telefonica and Liberty Global also own Virgin Media and O2 in the UK).

The CEO of Liberty Global, Mike Fries, later made clear that this was partly due to their JV partner, Telefonica (inc. political pressure from the government of Spain, which has a say in the Spanish company), which had announced a strategic review of the business due to its heavy debts (c.£23bn) and other issues.

Fries also spoke of the need to “retain capital discipline in an increasingly irrational altnet environment“ (i.e. avoiding too much overbuild of other networks), while hinting that nexfibre might still be able to boost its network expansion through consolidation (M&A).

In addition, both Telefonica and Liberty Global now also have the right to kick off an initial public offering (IPO) for VMO2 after a lock-up period under the terms of the £31bn merger expired last year. But this is tricky, as neither side will want to take on the full burden of all those debts. The terms also allow each partner to sell its stake to a third-party 5-years after the closing, but the other shareholder still has a right of first refusal.

However, according to Bloomberg’s new report, a proposed deal is being “drawn up” that would allow Telefonica SA to take control of the UK Joint Venture. The article appears to indicate that they’re talking about VMO2, although it’s unclear where this would leave nexfibre, and we suspect it may be better to think of this as just being one of several potential options. But officially, there’s nothing solid on the table, yet.

Emilio Gayo, Telefonica’s COO, said today:

“We’re very happy with the current situation. The joint venture is working very well, we don’t have any proposals on the table to change that situation at the moment. Both companies, Liberty and Telefonica, are trying to find the best ways to develop the business.”

Strategic reviews of major businesses like this can often take a few months to run their course, thus we probably won’t get a better idea of the direction that VMO2 and nexfibre will be taking post-2025 until toward the end of summer or later this year. The outcome could produce a significant change in ownership and strategy toward the UK, but it might equally continue or even accelerate the current approach.

In the meantime, there seems to be somewhat of a spanner stuck (partially) in the works, which is slowing but not completely choking build progress. This is partly because Liberty Global itself remain committed to the UK, even while Telefonica seems uncertain. But it’s also due to the fact that you can’t stop such a major build engine without doing significant damage and removing options for the future (i.e. better to maintain it, albeit at a reduced pace, until the future is more certain).

The news does at least give alternative networks, as well as Openreach (BT), a bit less pressure to worry about. At least over the short term, or potentially longer if the outcome causes more disruption for VMO2 and nexfibre’s original ambitions. Time will tell.

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

ITP Approved to Deliver Telecoms Apprenticeship Training, Backed by Industry Support from Vodafone and Cornerstone

The Institute of Telecommunications Professionals (ITP) has officially been approved as a registered training provider for the Level 4 Cellular Network Field Engineer (CNFE) apprenticeship — a move that directly responds to the UK’s growing need for skilled telecoms engineers.

After more than a decade of supporting apprenticeships across the industry, this marks a major evolution for the ITP, transitioning from talent advocate to hands-on training provider. Backed by leading employers including Vodafone and Cornerstone, the programme is designed to meet urgent industry demands for future-ready engineering talent.

“This is a significant shift for the ITP and for the sector,” said Charlotte Goodwill, CEO of the ITP. “We’re stepping up to not just support apprenticeships, but to deliver training — ensuring learners are equipped to meet the standards the industry needs.”

The CNFE standard focuses on the skills required to build and maintain mobile infrastructure – including 5G – at a time when pressure on UK connectivity has never been higher. By delivering this programme directly, the ITP is closing the gap between industry expectations and apprentice preparedness.

Since 2013, the ITP has placed thousands of apprentices into the telecoms sector. Achieving provider status allows the organisation to take a more active role in developing the next generation of engineers, shaped by real-world demands and employer feedback.

Vodafone and Cornerstone — supporters of the ITP’s work — welcomed the announcement.

“We’re proud to support the ITP as they take this next step,” said Andrew Murchison, Access Assurance Manager at Vodafone. “The CNFE standard is key to delivering the connectivity the UK needs, and apprenticeships like this are vital for creating lasting career pathways in our sector.”

“As the industry evolves, it’s essential that training evolves with it,” said Andy Train, CNO at Cornerstone. “We’re pleased to support the ITP in helping to develop a highly skilled, future-ready workforce that reflects the needs of our networks and partners.”

Notes to Editors

For media enquiries, please contact:
Jo Evans
jo.evans@theitp.org
01932 788 861
www.theitp.org

About the ITP

The Institute of Telecommunications Professionals (ITP) is the UK’s leading independent membership body for professionals in the telecommunications and digital technology sectors. With a proud heritage dating back to 1906, we are committed to advancing the industry, supporting professional development, and shaping the future of global connectivity.

As a not-for-profit organisation, we serve a diverse community of individuals and businesses – from aspiring apprentices and seasoned professionals to multinational organisations and innovative start-ups. Through expert-led events, industry-leading publications, and professional mentoring, we empower our members with the skills, insights, and networks needed to thrive in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

We’re proud to be an apprenticeship training provider, committed to supporting the next generation of industry professionals. Through attracting new talent, delivering high-quality training, and developing a strong pipeline of skilled individuals, we help shape the future of the sector. In addition, we offer tailored career development programmes, thought leadership opportunities, and a dynamic member platform that fosters collaboration and knowledge sharing.

At the ITP, we are more than a membership body – we are a driving force behind the telecommunications industry, championing innovation, excellence, and professional growth.

About Cornerstone

Cornerstone is the UK’s leading mobile infrastructure services company, managing a portfolio of over 15,700 sites nationwide. We enable reliable, high-speed mobile connectivity by building and maintaining the infrastructure that underpins the UK’s digital economy. We’re proud to support initiatives like the CNFE apprenticeship, helping to develop a skilled, future-ready telecoms workforce. By investing in talent, technology and partnerships, we’re shaping a more connected, inclusive and resilient digital future for the UK.

About Vodafone

Vodafone is a leading telecommunications company in Europe and Africa

We connect for a better future, using technology to improve people’s lives and enable an inclusive, sustainable digital society.

We are guided by our Social Contract – how we bring our purpose to life through what we do. It is our commitment to society, customers, and governments to connect rural communities, to enable access to education, healthcare, and financial services; and to help businesses. With these actions we also contribute to the success of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Through our business, we aim to build a digital society that enhances socioeconomic progress, is inclusive for all and does not come at a cost to our planet.

About CNFE

CNFE is a cross-industry organisation which focuses on the growing need to train and recruit the next generation of telecom engineers. The organisation, which includes Vodafone and mobile infrastructure experts Cornerstone in its members, work to identify, educate and develop appropriate education pathways in school curriculum and college courses to encourage young people to consider telecom engineering as a future career path.  More information is available at www.cnfe.co.uk

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

News

The US Department of Commerce (DOC) under Donald Trump will instead pursue dealmaking on a country-by-country basis

This week, the DOC has announced it will cancel the so-called ‘AI Diffusion Rule’, a policy related to the export of AI semiconductor technology, just two days before it was due to come into effect.

The policy, drafted during the last month of the Biden administration, would see countries categorised into three tiers based on numerous factors, including geopolitical and national security concerns. Tier 1 countries, which includes close allies like the UK and South Korea, would face no restrictions on AI chip exports; tier 2 countries, like Singapore and India, would have limited export controls, and Tier 3 countries, like Russia and China, would face heavy export controls.

One of the major goals of the policy was to limit China’s access to US chips via third countries, as well as pressurising nations to adopt stricter security requirements around the technology.

The policy was met by significant pushback from the international community, which complained that the arbitrary nature of the categorisation. US chipmakers like Nvidia also criticised the proposal, saying it added unnecessary red tape to international trade.

The Trump administration seems to agree with these misgivings.

“These new requirements would have stifled American innovation and saddled companies with burdensome new regulatory requirements.  The AI Diffusion Rule also would have undermined U.S. diplomatic relations with dozens of countries by downgrading them to second-tier status,” said the DOC in a statement.

The government is now moving to revise these rules, with insiders suggesting export policy will likely be handled on a country-by-country basis, rather than sweeping categorisation. Countries expected to still face greater restrictions include Malaysia and Thailand, which are known to have diverted chips to China, according to sources.

Alongside this statement, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has also warned that using Huawei Ascend chips anywhere in the world violates US export controls, as well as issuing guidance against using US technology for the training of Chinese AI models.

“The Trump Administration will pursue a bold, inclusive strategy to American AI technology with trusted foreign countries around the world, while keeping the technology out of the hands of our adversaries.  At the same time, we reject the Biden Administration’s attempt to impose its own ill-conceived and counterproductive AI policies on the American people,” said the Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Jeffery Kessler in a statement.

Dealmaking with individual nations is set to take place in the upcoming months.

Also in the news:
Germany appoints first ever digital minister
Signify and Cornerstone to deploy city-wide multi-operator wireless network through street lighting
BT opens new flagship Manchester office

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

News 

The company says the acquisitions are designed to support long-term demand for digital infrastructure, as AI adoption and cloud growth accelerate 

NTT DATA has announced an expansion of its global data centre footprint, acquiring land across seven markets in North America, Europe, and Asia, to support nearly one gigawatt of future capacity.  

The land deals form part of the company’s previously announced $10 billion global investment plan running through to 2027, aimed at meeting growing demand for AI-ready, high-performance cloud infrastructure. 

Two of the land acquisitions will take place in new markets for NTT, including a 53-acre site in Milan, Italy, where it plans a 128MW facility, and a 32-acre site in Tochigi, Japan, to support two data centres totalling 100MW. 

The company is also expanding its existing data centre hubs in: 

Hillsboro, Oregon: New land acquisition adds 216MW, increasing planned capacity in the region to 354MW. 

Phoenix, Arizona: A new 174-acre campus will support seven facilities with 324MW of capacity, bringing the local total to nearly 600MW. 

London: The company has secured land for a new facility (LON2) and acquired the freehold of existing sites. This will be NTT’s eighth data centre in the London area. 

Frankfurt, Germany: Plans for a fifth local site with an additional 80MW of capacity. 

Osaka, Japan: Two new facilities on an 8-acre site will bring total capacity in the region to 70MW. 

“By bringing new capacity to high-growth regions, we’re building the foundation enterprises need to innovate, scale and lead confidently in an AI-driven economy,” said Doug Adams, CEO and President of Global Data Centers at NTT DATA in a press release. 

“With the backing of our parent company, we are uniquely positioned to be able to invest and build proactively, ahead of market demand, delivering the resilient, sustainable infrastructure our clients need to succeed, while staying ahead of industry shifts,” he continued. 

The company is currently the world’s third-largest data centre provider. Its latest expansion aligns with a broader industry trend, as hyperscale providers race to meet rising demand for AI and cloud infrastructure. Microsoft, for instance, recently announced an expansion of its European cloud and AI infrastructure, committing to a 40% increase in data centre capacity across 16 countries over the next two years.   

Join in the digital infrastructure conversation at this year’s Connected Britain, 24-25 September in London. Get tickets here! 

Also in the news:
Verizon to deploy private 5G network at Buffalo Bills Highmark Stadium
AllPoints Fibre Networks unveils aquila
VMO2’s Recycle for Business service processes 45,000 devices 

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The Broadband Forum, which is an industry-driven global standards development organisation, has begun a new project that aims to help broadband ISPs improve their customer satisfaction, both in the UK and around the world, by providing them with the tools to “more accurately assess the end-user experience with the applications they use“.

At present, Internet Service Providers can already use a variety of known performance metrics to spot issues, such as network degradation. But at the same time there isn’t, strictly speaking, a fully standardised method to quantify the quality of service as experienced by the user.

The “groundbreaking” new project – Service Types, QoE Parameters and Evaluation (WT-524) – aims to improve this by providing new parameters and methods for ISPs to automatically measure customers’ Quality of Experience (QoE). It will also aim to harness Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enhance the application of existing measurements – for bandwidth, latency, jitter, and packet loss – to specific services.

The baseline methods and models for estimating end-user QoE will then be based on the Broadband Forum’s existing services-led efforts, as well as work in other standards development organisations, such as the IETF and ITU-T. The project will bring together QoE indicators and algorithms fragmented across many different industry specifications to create a “one stop shop” for all things QoE that can be readily used by a broadband provider.

Manuel Paul, BF’s President and Director of the Service Requirements Work Area, said:

“As users increasingly use more advanced and real-time services, it is even more important that BSPs [broadband service providers] know the true quality of the services they deliver in order to improve their service delivery, enhance customer satisfaction, increase service take-up rates, and reduce churn.

The most reliable measurement of the perceived broadband experience is the user’s subjective evaluation and these approaches are not feasible for the BSP to overcome real-time issues. This new project from the Broadband Forum will ultimately provide BSPs with a way to accurately estimate the service quality their customers experience in a more efficient way.”

The project will aim to estimate QoE for each ‘quality layer’ to provide a structured approach to understanding and improving the user’s overall experience with a service or application. This includes content quality (e.g. picture quality), transaction quality (e.g. service ordering and maintenance), and Flow and Network quality (i.e. basic network performance).

On the surface, all of this sounds very promising, although much will depend upon how it develops and the level of uptake by ISPs. Many broadband providers have already deployed their own solutions for monitoring and evaluating their networks, which some may feel is doing a good enough job today and thus does not need replacement.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Network access provider Openreach (BT) has this morning announced that they’ve connected, as part of their state aid funded contracts via the Government’s £5bn Project Gigabit scheme, the first remote rural premises in 38 different locations across the UK to their new gigabit speed Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP network.

Just to recap. Last year saw Openreach being awarded a new Single Supplier Framework agreement (here), which meant they’d be delivering all of Project Gigabit’s Cross-Regional (Type C) procurements – reflecting “up to” £800m in total state aid to help upgrade c. 300,000 premises in rural areas of England, Scotland and Wales (the previous Type A [local] and Type B [regional] contracts have all gone to smaller providers).

Take note that Type C contracts typically reflect locations where no or no appropriate market interest had previously been expressed before to the Government’s umbrella Building Digital UK (BDUK) agency, or areas that have been descoped or terminated from a prior plan. Areas like these are often skipped due to being too expensive (difficult) for smaller suppliers, which is why Openreach was favoured to scoop them up.

Since the original announcement last year, the government has formally awarded all or most of the related Type C contracts for this (here, here and here) and building has thus been underway for several months. Some of the first rural communities now able to access gigabit broadband speeds under this include: Lacock and Broad Hinton, in Wiltshire; Dane End, in Hertfordshire; Castle Caereinion and Llanwrin, in Powys; and Meeth, in Devon.

In addition, it’s worth noting that these Type C areas are also among the first in the UK to gain access to Openreach’s latest symmetric speed 1Gbps FTTP broadband tier (here), although we don’t yet know of any retail broadband ISPs able to offer this (probably because it’s far too expensive for consumer packages).

Katie Milligan, Deputy CEO of Openreach, said:

“Bringing full fibre broadband to the UK’s most remote and rural homes is a monumental achievement. These communities have faced connectivity challenges for far too long, but our partnership with Project Gigabit is changing that. We want to make sure that every corner of the UK has access to the fastest and most reliable broadband technology, so this is just the beginning. We’re continuing to innovate and push the boundaries of what’s possible as we want no community to be left behind.”

Telecoms Minister, Sir Chris Bryant (MP), said:

“I’m delighted to see the first premises successfully connected thanks to this landmark contract with Openreach, which will see some 220,000 homes and businesses connected in some of the hardest-to-reach places in the UK.

Poor connectivity has kept rural communities back for too long, but through Project Gigabit we’re removing barriers to opportunity and bringing fast, reliable broadband to homes and businesses that need it most.”

However, the press release does include one slightly confusing element, which states that the Project Gigabit scheme with Openreach “aims to upgrade 220,000 homes and businesses in places that would otherwise have been left behind by private companies“. Except this is actually less than the total combined figure for all of their awarded Type C call-off contracts, which including Scotland rises to over 290,000 premises (i.e. they’ve accidentally missed off the c. 65,000 premises in the recently awarded contract for Scotland).

Otherwise, Openreach’s 1.8Gbps speed FTTP broadband network currently reaches a total of 18.3 million premises across the UK and the operator says they’re on target to reach 25 million by December 2026 – supported by private investment worth c.£15bn. After that, they also have an ambition to reach “up to” 30 million by the end of 2030, although the details of that last phase have yet to be confirmed.

The new service, once live, can be ordered via various ISPs, such as BT, Sky Broadband, TalkTalk, Vodafone and many more (Openreach FTTP ISP Choices) – it is not currently an automatic upgrade, although some providers have started to do free automatic upgrades as older copper-based services and lines are slowly withdrawn.

We have asked Openreach if they’re able to provide a list of the initial 38 locations to go live and will update once that arrives.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

A new report has revealed how much Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband coverage exists across the top 15 National Parks in England, Scotland and Wales. Overall the top performing park was found to be the Yorkshire Dales (57.05%), while on the flip side Loch Lomond and The Trossachs (28.23%) delivered the weakest coverage.

The latest independent data from Thinkbroadband notes that some 87.45% of UK premises can now access a gigabit-capable broadband network (reflecting a combination of Hybrid Fibre Coax and Full Fibre networks), which falls to 77.27% when only looking at full fibre (FTTP) technology.

However, full fibre coverage is naturally going to be much lower in remote rural areas, which are much more expensive to reach (partly due to homes being very sparse and widely dispersed over longer distances) and thus tend to be last on the list for operators to upgrade.

The government’s £5bn Project Gigabit programme (i.e. aiming to extend gigabit broadband to c.99% coverage by 2030), as well as earlier schemes under the Building Digital UK (BDUK) framework, have worked and are still working to tackle the issue of poor rural broadband coverage, but it’s an inherently slow and complex process. Suffice to say that this is reflected in the latest coverage data for National Parks.

Top 15 UK National Parks for Full Fibre Broadband Cover (A-Z)

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

Wireless Broadband Alliance Services (WBA Services), a subsidiary of the Wireless Broadband Alliance, has today announced the commercial launch of WBA Services AFC, its Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC) service. The cloud-based platform is fully certified by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and enables the deployment of standard power Wi-Fi devices in the 6 GHz band (5.925–7.125 GHz) while ensuring they do not cause interference to existing incumbents, such as fixed microwave and radio astronomy links.

The launch of WBA Services AFC reflects the organization’s goal to advance global Wi-Fi innovation, delivering faster, more reliable, and more secure wireless connectivity. By enabling standard power devices in the 6 GHz band, WBA Services is unlocking a critical new spectrum resource for high-performance use cases such as enterprise networking, smart city infrastructure, industrial IoT, and immersive experiences like AR/VR. AFC enables more efficient use of the spectrum, benefiting not only infrastructure providers and service providers, but the millions of end users and businesses that rely on seamless, wireless broadband and low-latency access in homes, offices, stadiums, and public spaces.

The WBA Services AFC is based on the OpenAFC open-source specification and provides infrastructure manufacturers, service providers, and enterprises with dynamic frequency and power management based on device location and local spectrum conditions. This ensures compliance with regulatory requirements while maximizing spectrum availability and performance.

Tiago Rodrigues, CEO of Wireless Broadband Alliance Services, said: “As the demand for high-speed, low-latency wireless connectivity grows, the 6 GHz band represents a critical resource. Our AFC service empowers the ecosystem to harness this band responsibly and effectively. This is another great example of how WBA members’ work on AFC and across our working groups is leading the industry, driving new innovations and business opportunities for Wi-Fi technologies including Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 in a wide range of industrial, commercial and consumer use cases.”

AFC at the core of the 6 GHz opportunity

The AFC framework is vital for enabling standard power and outdoor Wi-Fi operations in the 6 GHz band. Devices query the WBA Services AFC to determine which frequencies and power levels are permitted at their location. This enables real-time, interference-free spectrum use for high-performance deployments in enterprise campuses, public venues, and dense urban environments, without the need for additional spectrum licenses.

WBA Services AFC delivers:

• Cloud-based coordination – Devices communicate directly with the WBA Services AFC to receive latest frequency guidance
• Standards-compliant operations – Fully aligned with the Open AFC Specification, ensuring interoperability and regulatory compliance
• Dynamic channel & power management – The service provides each device with approved frequencies and transmit power levels based on its location and surrounding environment.

New AFC support services

In addition to the core AFC service, WBA Services offers engineering and consulting support that are available for interference resolution, access point deployment planning, and custom software tools to optimize performance and accuracy.

• Interference incident response – Engineering support and analysis to investigate and resolve interference issues quickly and effectively
• Access point deployment planning – Includes site surveys, risk assessments, implementation evaluations, and strategies to minimize potential interference
• Custom software & simulation tools – Development of specialized tools or capabilities to enhance performance, such as improving accuracy, optimizing deployments, or further reducing interference risk.

How WBA Services AFC works with devices

1. Location detection – Before transmitting, a standard-power device or proxy determines its location
2. Querying WBA Services AFC – The device sends this location (and other technical data) to the WBA Services AFC.
3. Channel availability check – The WBA Services AFC system checks a database of licensed incumbents/operations and calculates which frequencies are available to use in that specific location to maximize the use of the spectrum
4. Authorization to transmit – The device receives a list of approved frequencies and power levels for operation

• Regular updates – Devices must check in with the AFC system at least once per day to stay current.

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

Press Release

AllPoints Fibre Networks (APFN) has officially launched aquila, a transformative new wholesale fibre platform designed to give Communication Service Providers (CSPs) seamless, scalable access to full-fibre broadband across the UK.

aquila currently integrates Openreach, BT Wholesale, CityFibre, and APFN’s own infrastructure into a single, easy-to-manage platform, unlocking connectivity to around 19 million premises — and counting. By removing the traditional complexities of wholesale fibre access, aquila enables CSPs to expand their services effortlessly without requiring upfront capital investment or lengthy development cycles.

aquila was built from the ground up to make the order and service journey smoother and faster for APFN’s CSP partners. The user experience has been specifically designed to be simpler and more straightforward than other solutions on the market. Uniquely, CSPs can connect to aquila via TM Forum’s tried and tested APIs, or via its API driven customer portal, or a mix of both. aquila’s transparent approach to system and service availability ensures CSP partners can deliver amazing service experiences every time.

Simplifying Wholesale Fibre Access

Historically, CSPs seeking national full-fibre coverage have had to navigate fragmented, outdated systems across multiple suppliers. aquila removes these obstacles, delivering a harmonised, scalable platform that streamlines fibre provisioning, enhances service transparency, and accelerates market deployment.

“aquila is built to transform wholesale fibre connectivity, making national full-fibre access simple, scalable, and efficient,” said Ronan Kelly, APFN Managing Director. “By consolidating the UK’s largest full-fibre networks into one seamless platform, we’re enabling CSPs to grow faster and serve more customers—without the traditional complexity.”

A Future-Ready Approach to Connectivity

aquila is not just a fibre access solution—it’s a complete service ecosystem designed to empower CSPs with end-to-end operational efficiency. In addition to offering wholesale FTTP, the platform offers Ethernet services, static IP solutions, advanced network telemetry, and customer-premises equipment (CPE) logistics, ensuring providers can scale confidently.

Alongside aquila, APFN has invested in cutting-edge core and edge network infrastructure designed for maximum performance and resilience. The figure-of-eight, multi-terabit, national backbone eliminates single points of failure by automatically rerouting traffic, ensuring seamless connectivity even during high-demand scenarios.

“Wholesale fibre access has needed a modern, transparent, and scalable alternative for a long time,” added Kelly. “With aquila and APFN’s robust network architecture, CSPs gain total control over their services, ensuring a faster, smarter, and more flexible approach to full-fibre delivery.”

As the UK’s demand for ultrafast, reliable broadband continues to rise, aquila provides CSPs with the competitive edge needed to meet evolving customer expectations and scale efficiently.

About All Points Fibre Networks (APFN)

APFN delivers the UK’s best and largest full fibre network through aquila, a frictionless wholesale platform, earning the trust of our customers by providing them with amazing services experiences at the lowest cost to serve. APFN is backed by Fern Trading, which is a committed long-term investor in the sector.

Join the telecoms ecosystem in discussion at Connected Britain 2025, the UK’s leading digital economy event

Also in the news:
Germany appoints first ever digital minister
Signify and Cornerstone to deploy city-wide multi-operator wireless network through street lighting
BT opens new flagship Manchester office

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Property developer Persimmon Homes (Persimmon Plc) has this morning announced that they’ve sold their sibling broadband ISP, FibreNest, which offered internet packages to homeowners on the developments where they’d deployed their own “full fibre” (FTTP) lines, to alternative network provider BUUK Infrastructure (aka – GTC, OFNL – Open Fibre Networks Limited).

Much like Persimmon’s approach with FibreNest, OFNL provides open access Fibre-to-the-Premise (FTTP) broadband networks that offer residents and businesses ultrafast connectivity on new build developments. But unlike Persimmon, OFNL is not restricted to only working with a single property developer and at the last update its network had already covered around 130,000 new build homes (19th Jul 2024).

By comparison, FibreNest is a younger project (started 2018) than OFNL and the network it reflects has so far covered 47,000 premises of Persimmon’s new build homes (Thinkbroadband estimate on 3rd Feb 2025). The provider has also faced some criticism due to the lack of ISP options on their network (example). FibreNest do claim to offer a wholesale solution, but no other ISPs have found their offer attractive enough to adopt.

In that sense, today’s announcement of Persimmon’s sale of FibreNest’s full fibre broadband service to BUUK Infrastructure could be significant, both for existing homeowners within their respective developments and their future ability to expand. In addition, it will also make the overall and now much larger network more attractive as a consolidation target for bigger fish.

The discounted total enterprise value for the sale is c. £100m, with £70m received upon completion and further payments contingent on business performance over the coming years. Persimmon’s Board intends to use the proceeds from the sale of this non-core asset to invest further in its growth strategy.

The sale will also remove the need for the ongoing investment that FibreNest would have required in the coming years, providing additional capital for Persimmon to allocate to deliver its medium-term growth ambitions.

Dean Finch, Group Chief Executive, said:

“The sale will provide greater choice to FibreNest customers and allows Persimmon to invest further in our growth strategy. By partnering with BUUK we have been careful to select a well-respected operator that is committed to excellent service.”

The announcement makes clear that under BUUK’s ownership, FibreNest will be able to offer improved choice for customers, with access to up to 18 other broadband ISPs to choose from (although most of them do follow a roughly similar level of pricing and service quality). The sale is expected to complete, subject to regulatory clearance, within 3 months.

Furthermore, it’s worth reminding our readers that OFNL also has a pre-existing partnership with Virgin Media (details), which makes it possible for homeowners on many of their sites to access Virgin’s services too. In theory it’s conceivable that this dual duct agreement could now be extended to include FibreNest’s property development sites too, although that has yet to be confirmed and may require additional considerations (e.g. we don’t know if FibreNest’s network or the sale agreement can be adapted in that way).