Some sources have indicated to ISPreview that reputable mobile network provider giffgaff, which is owned by Telefónica and uses the associated Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) provided by O2 (Virgin Media) in the UK, are allegedly testing the possibility of offering full fibre (FTTP) broadband packages via nexfibre’s network.
Just to recap. Nexfibre is the product of a £4.5bn joint venture (here) between Telefónica, Liberty Global and InfraVia Capital Partners, which aims 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).
Nexfibre’s 10Gbps capable FTTP (XGS-PON) network has so far covered 1,277,800 premises (RFS), which is up from 986,000 in Q1 2024 and much of that has been built by Virgin Media’s engineers. But they’re currently in the process of investing another £1bn this year to help cover an additional 1 million UK premises (i.e. on top of their existing coverage) and this should get them to around c.2m by the end of 2024.
Suffice to say that it’s not impossible to see giffgaff, given the many aspects of intertwined ownership, getting into the fixed broadband game too. But thus far there has been no indication of such activity, and giffgaff has instead always tended to remain exclusively focused upon mobile provision.
Nevertheless, information received by ISPreview suggests that giffgaff may at least be exploring such a move, which appears to be occurring as part of a limited trial on part of Nexfibre’s network – possibly in part of Scarborough. In this area nexfibre have allegedly been spotted deploying a number of seemingly unbranded ONTs (optical modems) in homes for an operator other than Virgin Media and the indications suggest it’s giffgaff.
The solution at work looks similar to a white label agreement, although plenty of details remain unknown and we must stress that none of this has yet been officially confirmed. We did ask both giffgaff and Nexfibre about it and they each declined to give a comment.