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A new research note from James Ratzer at New Street Research has claimed that CityFibre, which have already deployed their full fibre broadband (FTTP) ISP network to cover 4.3 million UK premises (4.1m RFS), is making progress on their plans for future consolidation and already has “up to” 850,000 homes served by other alternative networks “under M&A exclusivity“.

Just to recap. CityFibre currently still aspires to cover up to 8 million UK premises with their new full fibre network – representing c.30% of the UK. But their original target of hitting that by around 2025 will not be achieved, and the operator has instead indicated a desire to boost their growth via M&A (mergers and acquisition) of smaller alternative networks.

Not unlike other network operators in this market, CityFibre has faced pressures from high interest rates, rising build costs and competition. The operator has also scaled-back their focus on new commercial fibre build, albeit partly to help deliver on the nine rural-focused Project Gigabit contracts – worth more than £865m (state aid) – that they’ve secured from the government (in total these could help them to reach another 1.3m premises).

Despite this, CityFibre is currently reported to be closing in on a £500m equity financing deal with existing investors (here), while at the same time the new research note indicates that they’re also looking for around £1bn of incremental debt funding – potentially enough liquidity to keep them fuelled through to mid-2027. But much of this is more in service of funding their plans for future consolidation.

CityFibre’s consolidation drive has so far only been able to add a single altnet, LitFibre, since early 2024 (here) – reflecting an increase of around 300,000 premises. According to James Ratzer, in 2025 and beyond, it’s expected that CityFibre will likely only build out c.300k homes per annum organically, largely to fulfil their Project Gigabit contracts. But the operator still aspires to add around 1 million premises each year, which suggest c.700,000 will be coming from future M&A deals (last year they added 900k homes to their footprint, with nearly 300k via the LitFibre M&A).

The research note then indicates that, following their discussions with CityFibre, they now “understand that currently up to 850k FTTH altnet homes in the UK are under M&A exclusivity with CityFibre” (excluding the earlier LitFibre deal). This reflects M&A deals that CityFibre are in the process of trying to finalise, which are expected to follow the same sort of share-based acquisition as the LitFibre agreement.

The analyst sees all this as representing a “new, significant and very rational pivot in their business model”, which they say would see CityFibre taking “an active role in trying to consolidate the market and to prevent further overbuilding in the UK“.

The potential catch in all this, according to the note, is that the operator’s “strategy pivot is as yet unproven.” For example, it remains unclear how much competition CityFibre might face from rival altnets, some of which may be able to offer a more attractive deal for specific networks. Similarly, it’s unclear how willing the sellers might be to accept Cityfibre equity and then there’s the question of debt.

“The UK fibre challenger sector is carrying too much debt and we wouldn’t expect lenders will want to take a write down on their debt holdings. We therefore assume that for each M&A deal, Cityfibre has to take on £300 of net debt / home acquired. While this doesn’t increase Cityfibre’s immediate funding needs, it does increase their interest costs and might be an issue for future debt covenants as it would increase headline net debt,” warned the note.

However, despite those challenges, New Street Research still sees growth through M&A as being a “far more sensible approach to scaling Cityfibre’s business than continuing with excessive levels of organic network build“. The key takeaway for now is that CityFibre’s investors seem to have confidence in their approach, at least for the next few years, and appear ready to support their consolidation drive. Time will tell.

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Mobile operator O2 (Virgin Media) has today announced that they’ll invest the equivalent to approximately £700m this year into their ongoing Mobile Transformation Plan (MTP). This is aimed at enhancing network coverage and performance via new masts, small cells, 4G and 5G upgrades, additional spectrum deployment and increased automation via AI.

The programme is primarily focused on expanding 4G and 5G (mobile broadband) coverage to historic ‘not-spots’ in rural and coastal areas, as well as a dedicated small cells rollout to boost capacity in dense urban areas, and new solutions to “address persistent network pain points” (e.g. along railway lines, at airports, on motorways, and in stadiums and arenas – many of these will adopt Distributed Antenna Systems [DAS]).

The operator said they would also be harnessing more of their fixed fibre network in order to connect UK mobile sites. This will no doubt also benefit from their new Converged Interconnect Network (CIN) that brings together its fixed line (FTTP, DOCSIS) and mobile networks (4G, 5G etc.) in a way that will make them more efficient, resilient, scalable and flexible (here).

Finally, in hard-to-reach locations, O2 said they intended to adopt more satellite technology to connect their towers as a cost-effective way of tackling remote signal not-spots. For example, we’ve already seen them using Starlink’s LEO constellation to do some of these (here).

Jeanie York, Chief Technology Officer of VMO2, said:

“Virgin Media O2 is committed to providing our customers with a reliable connectivity experience wherever they are. Our Mobile Transformation Plan combines the necessary financial investment with the latest technological innovation to make this a reality.”

We’re not just upgrading infrastructure; we’re creating a platform for future innovation. This programme ensures our customers will continue to benefit from superior reliability as new technologies and demands emerge.”

The announcement itself sounds positive, and it is, although it’s also worth remembering that a lot of this work is effectively routine for a modern mobile operator. Such networks are never static and require constant upgrades and maintenance in order to keep pace with rising demands.

The programme forms part of Virgin Media and O2’s wider combined £2bn investment this year into its fixed broadband and mobile network.

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Network provider PlatformX Communications (PXC), which was previously known as Talk Talk Wholesale before the demerger (here), has today announced that they’ve signed a new wholesale partnership to access Trooli’s alternative full fibre (FTTP) broadband network in England.

Just to recap. Trooli’s gigabit broadband network currently covers 410,000 UK premises (up from 370k RFS on 19th Jul 2024) and is mostly found in towns and large semi-rural villages across parts of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Dorset, East Sussex, Hampshire, Kent, Norfolk, Suffolk, West Sussex and Wiltshire in England. As well as parts of North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire and Fife in Scotland (formerly part of Axione UK’s network, before the merger – here).

The partnership is expected to further strengthen PXC’s position as one of the UK’s major alternative network aggregators (they’ve already signed similar agreements with Openreach, CityFibre, CommunityFibre, Freedom Fibre and various other networks), while at the same time offering Trooli “substantial opportunities” for them to attract more providers and customers to their network.

Andy Conibere, CEO at Trooli, said:

“This partnership is an incredible opportunity for us, and follows months of rigorous due diligence. We are dedicated to the innovation required to building our network in areas of the UK that will benefit from it the most and have a team with considerable experience of delivering excellent quality wholesale partnerships. By partnering with a wholesale provider of PXC’s scale, we can provide digital access and greater consumer choice for more communities that would otherwise be left behind.”

James Smith, PXC’s CEO, said:

“Trooli plays a vital part in our alt net aggregation strategy. With its focus on the rural areas of the South East and elsewhere, it will enable us to offer more of the UK reliable fibre broadband, providing savings in areas previously overlooked. We’re really excited to join forces with Trooli in delivering next generation connectivity to new regions.”

PXC said they’re currently aiming to launch their first products on Trooli’s network during Q2 this year, subject to contract.

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Chunghwa Telecom, the leading telecommunications operator in Taiwan, partners with Broadpeak® to power new monetization growth for its streaming service Hami Video, harnessing Broadpeak’s server-side-ad-insertion (SSAI) solution via the broadpeak.io SaaS platform. Leveraging advanced dynamic ad insertion for the first time to elevate viewing experiences and increase ad revenue, the Taiwanese operator delivers coverage for live basketball matches and associated content with greater monetization via its always-on, premium sports streaming channel.

Chunghwa Telecom serves over 3 million video streaming subscribers, offering a broad array of live and on-demand content, including premium international sports. With continued rights investments in premier live sports content, the market-leading operator required new and enhanced ad insertion capabilities to better monetize its growing OTT service, Hami Video, enabling greater ad revenues across a wide-ranging live sports and on-demand entertainment offering

Chunghwa Telecom recognizes the importance of selecting new dynamic ad insertion technology to enhance monetization capabilities and drive ad revenues while maximizing audience engagement. Broadpeak enabled a rapid time-to-market, allowing the service to go live within weeks with a flexible, easy-to-use SaaS solution.

Broadpeak is a leading provider of content delivery network (CDN) and video streaming solutions for content providers and pay-TV operators worldwide. Its first-class SSAI solution seamlessly integrates ads into video content by stitching them directly into the video stream on the server side while enabling intelligent live ad replacement for greater ad value and personalization. This approach improves ad delivery by avoiding ad blockers, ensuring smooth playback transitions, and allowing for dynamic, targeted advertising in real-time — all driven by a cost-effective, flexible SaaS model enabled by the broadpeak.io cloud platform.

Alongside fast time-to-market, the cloud-based solution provided Chungwha Telecom with effortless third-party integration via API-driven architecture, seamless interoperability within existing CDN and ad-tech environments. Driving efficiency and tackling source stream challenges, Broadpeak also implemented AI-driven tools to automatically detect ad breaks and insert the relevant SCTE-35 markers within video streams.

Jacques Le Mancq, President and CEO of Broadpeak, said, “Chunghwa Telecom is innovation-led and champions exceptional subscriber experiences. Market leaders like Chunghwa set a pioneering example of how operators can elevate their monetization toolkit while bringing the best live sports and entertainment to rapidly-growing audiences. We’re proud to support Chunghwa as it embarks on new periods of growth as the ultimate streaming platform for Taiwanese viewers.”

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Contributed Article 

On the third day of this year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Huawei’s James Chen, President of the Carrier Business, delivered a keynote speech on the transformative power of artificial intelligence (AI) in the telco industry. Chen’s speech highlighted how AI is set to drive up Techco value creation enabling operators to evolve and thrive in the digital era.  

The changing of the industry business model 

As 5G, cloud computing, and AI reshape industries, operators must rethink their business models. There are three areas in which that AI can drive innovation here: 

1. Monetisation of differentiated experiences.

   AI enables real-time network adjustments to improve user experiences, such as offering VIP network packages to live-streaming influencers facing congestion. Live stream shopping is extremely popular, especially in China, and a congested network could negatively impact the live streamers by slowing sales. By offering a monetised package to the live streamer to ensure a clear network, for example, the live streaming business is guaranteed. But for this to work, operators must ensure that AI is deployed on the network to identify user needs in real time, and then recommend appropriate packages. This monetisation could apply to other areas too, such as gaming or business travel.

2. Intelligent home services. AI-powered smart home solutions, such as Wi-Fi routers that detect emergencies and notify family members. In the presentation, the audience is shown a video of an elderly family member falling, with the Wi-Fi router immediately detecting it and contacting family members to ensure safety in the home. Currently, Korean and Chinese operators are researching unified intelligent home entry with an AI agent inside. Here, the agent serves as a gateway for accessing different intelligent home devices. It can understand the intentions of each family member, and then use the right applications in the cloud. Using this example, the operator can evolve into being not just a broadband provider but a full AI services provider. 
3. B2B cloud solutions. Operators can use AI-powered cloud platforms to support the digital transformation of businesses, not just single users or households. The audience are given the example of a ‘Super-App’ provided by a North African operator, which lets users book taxis, flights, and pay taxes. By offering more than just internet services, telecom companies can help industries go digital and find new opportunities for monetisation and diversification.

AI-powered telecom operations 

AI is also improving telecom operations, enhancing efficiency in maintenance and troubleshooting. With the newly introduced Telecom Foundation Model network issues can be detected within three minutes, after which an AI agent assists the field engineer with repairs. The implementation of a telecom foundation model supports predictive maintenance, optimising resource allocation and reducing service downtime. Overall, it improves efficiency and enhances the user experience.  

The future of telecom infrastructure 

“Infrastructure is the foundation for everything,” said Chen. To support AI-driven transformation, telecom infrastructure must evolve in three ways: 

1. Intelligent Connectivity. Networks need to transition from best-effort models to deterministic experiences with seamless connections.
2. Intelligent Cloud. Distributed computing power will be essential to support cloud-based services and AI-driven analytics.
3. 3. Integrated Resource Collaboration. Operators must align their network, cloud, and computing resources to best optimise their performance and efficiency.

Huawei reaffirmed its commitment to helping operators navigate the AI era in three ways. By offering AI-enhanced business solutions, AI-enabled operations, and AI-centric infrastructure. Chen’s speech concluded with a call for immediate action. “The AI era has arrived. The best time to act is now,” he urged.  

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The UK Government’s Science and Technology Secretary, Peter Kyle, has today outlined a raft of new investments, reforms and appointments aimed at “supercharging innovation and helping to grow the economy“, which among other things includes an investment of £23m into “cutting edge telecoms research and deployment“.

The Secretary of State today declared to techUK’s conference that there is “no route to long-term growth and no solution to our productivity problem, without innovation“, before confirming that the Government would deliver the “first ever dedicated plan for the digital and technologies sector with transparent, adaptable, pro-innovation regulation as a central pillar“.

Under the Government’s new plans, “red tape that is no longer fit for the opportunities of the 21st century will be peeled away“, so that new technologies can be brought to market quickly and safely. But it’s currently unclear how much of this will extend to the telecoms side of things.

The announcement also mentioned an investment of £23 million in telecoms R&D that, we’re told, will “deliver breakthroughs in getting coverage to places that can’t currently receive signals, and support projects delivering real, tangible change for people and businesses across Britain” – with smart sensors to prevent damp and mould in social housing in Glasgow, or using 5G mobile to help farmers in Sussex monitor vineyards and maximise their yields.

The Science and Technology Secretary, Peter Kyle, said:

“Everywhere you see, there is an imbalance of power in this country which has – for too long – made it impossible to imagine a better future for Britain.

To deliver our Plan for Change we have to shift the balance of power, away from stagnation and old ideas, towards innovation and opportunity, and the bold people building a new future for Britain.

In doing so, by 2035 we could see a whole new Britain emerge, harnessing the power of technological development, from engineering biology to AI, semiconductors and cyber security, or quantum and future telecoms for a stronger economy and better lives for all in the UK.”

As we understand it, around £7m from that £23m investment will go toward local projects that can integrate 5G wireless networks with both businesses and public services, while the remaining funding will research how AI and cloud computing can be put to even better use within telecoms and modern digital networks. Hopefully more detail will be revealed in the near future.

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Alternative broadband operators Zzoomm and FullFibre Limited (Fibre Heroes), both of which have been rolling out multi-gigabit speed capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) ISP networks across different parts of the UK, have today confirmed the completion of their recently announced merger (here). The deal has received all the necessary regulatory approvals.

The newly combined network reaches 600,000 premises (ready for service) and “over” 70,000 customers (up from 65k+ in January 2025) across England – serving parts of around 110 market towns, which makes it one of the largest UK altnets, combining a wholesale full fibre network provider alongside its in-house ISP retail companies (BeFibre and Zzoomm).

“The business will be in a much stronger position to accelerate organic growth across its two consumer brands and wholesale network. It will also be able to achieve greater operational and financial efficiencies through economies of scale. The larger group will be able to secure funding to support further investment in its networks and, as one of the largest Altnet businesses with excellent infrastructure, is well-positioned to drive M&A across the fragmented sector,” said today’s brief announcement.

Under the agreement, Matthew Hare, CEO of Zzoomm (pictured – left), will become Executive Chairman of the combined business, while James Warner, CEO of FullFibre (pictured – right), will be the new Group CEO. But it still remains to be seen how much “funding for new builds” might actually be secured and their future roll-out targets are similarly unclear.

The other factor to consider is that today may not mark the completed physical integration of the two networks and customer bases, which tends to be a much longer and more complex process (similar agreements have taken around a year, or sometimes longer, to deliver on this aspect). We suspect they may want to get that out of the way first before committing to a major new network expansion project.

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The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today proposed to make part of the 1900MHz radio spectrum band (1900-1920MHz), which was previously awarded for mobile operators but has since gone unused, available for use by both the UK’s rail network (5G mobile / broadband services) and to extend coverage for the 4G Emergency Services Network (ESN).

Just to be clear, the major mobile network operators do in fact make use of spectrum frequency in this band, but today’s news specifically concerns the smaller 20MHz piece of unpaired spectrum in that band that has gone unused.

However, mobile operators have shunned this part of the band, not least as none of them wanted to deploy higher-power services in the spectrum, due to the lack of an ecosystem, as well as the need for a guard band against paired spectrum (reducing an already limited pot of spectrum) and the limited bandwidth it offers.

The regulator has thus been investigating alternative approaches and has today published a new consultation, which makes the following proposals.

The Regulator’s Proposal

➤ Authorise 1900–1910 MHz for operational rail communications to enable the rollout of FRMCS. The proposed new FRMCS licences would:

Be restricted to the provision of operational rail communications.

Contain technical conditions suitable for the deployment of FRMCS.

Require technical coordination with other existing or future FRMCS licensees in overlapping or neighbouring geographic areas.

Be issued via a simple process, with checks on applicants’ ability to comply with key licence conditions.

➤ Authorise 1910–1915 MHz to enable Emergency Services Network (ESN) gateways. The proposed licence would:

Be restricted to the provision of ESN gateways by the provider that is contracted by the UK Government to supply these gateways (currently BT / EE).

Have a fixed duration, aligned with the contract to supply ESN gateways.

Allow use throughout Great Britain.

Contain technical conditions consistent with standards used by the ESN.

➤ Set fees based on the opportunity cost of the spectrum. Our proposed annual fee for 1900–1910 MHz is £145,800 per MHz for a licence covering Great Britain and £4,200 per MHz for a licence covering Northern Ireland. Fees would be half these levels in 1910–1915 MHz to reflect the lower power levels permitted. This means that the total annual fee would be:

£1,458,000 for 1900–1910 MHz for a FRMCS licence covering Great Britain, and £42,000 for a licence covering Northern Ireland. Licences for smaller rail networks would pay a smaller fee, scaled by the length of the rail routes covered.

£364,500 for 1910–1915 MHz for an ESN gateway licence covering Great Britain.

Fees would be payable from 3 April 2029 when the spectrum becomes available.

At present, Ofcom are NOT proposing to authorise any use in the final 1915–1920MHz part of the aforementioned band, “primarily because of the power restrictions necessary to protect the mobile band above 1920MHz from interference, as well as uncertainty over demand for the spectrum“.

In terms of the 5G improvements envisaged for the 10MHz of spectrum frequency between 1900-1910MHz, Ofcom said “this would help replace the existing 2G technology, and enable trains, signalling and level crossings to be better connected, helping to reduce delays and make the rail network run more efficiently. As this frequency band is harmonised around Europe for rail networks, the UK rail industry would benefit from widely available equipment to deploy new technology using this spectrum“.

As for the ESN improvements between 1910–1915MHz, Ofcom said this would be through the use of ‘gateways’ – equipment installed on emergency vehicles such as ambulances. “These will enable emergency services to communicate in hard-to-reach areas, like underground car parks and remote rural areas,” added the regulator.

Ofcom is open to feedback on these proposals until 19th May 2025, and they currently intend to publish a statement setting out their decisions in Q3 2025/26.

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England’s largest not-for-profit provider of housing and care for people in later life, Anchor, has today revealed that they’re working with Managed ISP Wifinity to deploy faster Wi-Fi infrastructure across its almost 1,700 housing locations and care homes – serving more than 65,000 residents in almost 55,000 homes.

The new network will be targeted at serving both the company’s offices and also communal spaces, which should help to support residents and tackle digital exclusion, while also aiding staff to do their jobs. The roll-out itself is already underway, and hundreds of residents have already connected to the new service via over 200 live sites.

In addition to connecting residents through Wifinity, Anchor’s “Be Well” service provides a range of ways to support residents’ wellbeing, both online and off, and the investment in Wi-Fi will provide opportunities for more residents to get involved in the service. As part of Be Well, Be Digital provides digital support to residents who enrol – helping them to get and stay connected with loved ones and to upskill their digital capabilities.

Anchor CEO, Sarah Jones, said:

“The connectivity will enable Anchor to support colleagues with technology and systems to enhance every aspect of the service that residents receive. It will bring enormous benefits for residents, whether they are online or not, and will help us to address the serious issue of digital poverty. Crucially, along with our adoption of the Plentific platform to manage repairs and planned works and our wider digital and data strategy, it enables more modern, efficient ways of ensuring residents have safe, well-maintained homes.

We chose to partner with Wifinity because they could deliver at the scale and pace we required. By providing our corporate network for colleagues and building management systems while also having taken the time to really understand and meet our residents’ needs, Wifinity are driving cost saving by doing more with the same kit, all of which is improving the lives of our residents.”

Costas Demetriou, CEO of Wifinity, said:

“We are delighted we were selected by Anchor to be a part of this digital transformation. The scale and ambition of this programme is huge and will make such a difference to so many people. As well as the installation, we are supporting residents to be active online and be able to access vital services such as video consultations with health professionals, ordering prescriptions and calls with families.”

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Ofcom’s rules require that all “phone, broadband and pay-TV providers” must “warn customers when their current contract is ending, and what they could save by signing up to a new deal” (usually sent between 10-40 days before the end of your contract). But an ongoing legal challenge makes the situation for customers of Sky TV a bit more confusing.

The regulator’s End-of-Contract Notifications (ECN) system has been around since early 2020 and, while there are still some ISPs that don’t play by the rules (usually certain smaller players), most providers do follow the policy. The move helps to keep subscribers informed about the best deals available to them and also encourages switching, which usually leads to savings.

However, the situation for customers of Sky’s (Sky Broadband etc.) various pay-TV packages is a bit more complex, which is something that we only realised recently after some customers of their newer Sky Glass and Sky Stream TV services queried why they weren’t receiving ECNs. In response, Sky’s support team told some of those same users that they only issued end of contract notifications to their broadband and mobile services, which appears to contradict a 2022 ruling.

Just to recap. Back in August 2022 Ofcom concluded a long-running investigation into Sky, which found that they had broken consumer protection rules by failing to send ECNs to their satellite-based Pay TV customers (here). Sky’s original argument against this, which the regulator rejected, was based on the fact that the 2003 Communications Act excluded “content services” from the ECN rules, which instead only apply to “electronic communications networks” (i.e. Sky argued that their satellite TV services were “content services“).

The above context is key because Ofcom have since informed ISPreview that, despite providing access to broadly the same services as their satellite-based products, Sky Stream and Sky Glass are currently classed by the regulator as over-the-top “content services” delivered through the internet, like Netflix, Disney+ etc. As above, content services are not regulated as communications services and thus fall outside the scope of Ofcom’s General Conditions. Ofcom informed us that the one exception to this is if they’re delivered as part of a bundle (e.g. alongside Sky Broadband), then ECNs should still apply.

So far, so confusing, and we’re not done yet. Remember that 2022 decision against Sky’s satellite TV service above? Sky promptly launched a legal challenge against that and, despite losing several attempts to overturn Ofcom’s ruling, the broadcasting giant recently filed another application for permission to appeal (again) with the Court of Appeal just before Christmas 2024.

The case reference for this is CA-2024-002837, and it is tentatively expected to be heard in court on 29th July 2025. As a result the situation around ECNs, as well as how some of Ofcom’s other associated rules may apply to Sky’s various different pay-TV platforms, remains confusing and potentially subject to change.

A Sky spokesperson said:

“We’re committed to providing our customers with the best possible service across all our products and offer an extensive range of options to help them manage their Sky TV services and bills.

We do not believe that Sky’s pay-TV service is an electronic communication service under the definition in the Communications Act 2003 and continue to seek legal review to clarify what has been a long running, genuine difference of views on interpretation of the law.”

We can certainly understand Sky’s argument on the technical detail, but equally Ofcom have always stated that ECNs were intended to apply to Pay TV providers too and consumers rightly expect this to be the case. In the end, Sky does not come out of this smelling of roses and we’d like to see all of their pay-TV products applying Ofcom’s rules, but clearly there are still some areas of conflict.