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The fibre network operator says it “is on track to become the second-largest competitive network in just its second year of operation”
Just 14 months since launching commercial services, full fibre wholesaler nexfibre has announced that its fibre-to-the-premise (FTTP) network is now available at over 1 million premises across the UK.
The altnet was formed back in 2022 as a £4.5 billion joint venture between InfraVia Capital Partners, Liberty Global and Telefonica.
The company’s stated goal was to deliver FTTP broadband connectivity to up to 7 million homes across the UK that are not already served by Virgin Media’s network.
Since then, the company has been expanding rapidly. By the end of 2023, the company’s FTTP network had already passed 830,000. Now, the company is reporting over 170,000 more premises passed, bringing the total to over 1 million.
“It’s thanks to the hard work of our team, our partners, and the commitment of our investors that we are able to mark this significant milestone on our path to reaching 5 million premises by 2026. And we’re just getting started. As we continue to accelerate activity, we remain steadfast in our commitment to delivering the high-quality digital infrastructure that has the power to create lasting value in the communities we serve,” said Rajiv Datta, Chief Executive Officer of nexfibre.
“We firmly believe that we are building a platform to foster sustainable competition in the UK fibre market, that will drive innovation for generations to come,” he added.
It is worth noting here that nexfibre acquired fibre altnet Upp in September last year, move that gave the company an additional 175,000 premises passed. With these premises presumably still being integrated into nexfibre’s network, it is unclear if these additional premises are being included in the company’s new milestone total today.
In terms of the future, nexfibre announced an additional £1 billion investment in January, saying they would use the funds to pass a further 1 million premises in 2024.
Ultimately, the operator aims to pass five million premises by 2026.
nexfibre’s network is available to all ISPs on a wholesale basis but, as of February, Virgin Media was the company’s only ISP partner. More ISPs are expected to be added later this year.
“The build programme is delivering at pace and is underpinned by an ambitious plan that’s already extended fibre to one million new premises,” said Lutz Schüler, Chief Executive Officer at Virgin Media O2. “In partnership with nexfibre, we remain focused on driving scaled, sustainable competition in the full fibre market, and bringing the benefits of next-generation gigabit services to millions more homes and business across the UK.”
Nexfibre’s CEO Rajiv Datta is speaking on the opening keynote at this year’s Connected North conference live in Manchester. Get your tickets today!
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