In a significant development for digital infrastructure, the United Kingdom has emerged as a leader in the expansion of full fibre networks across Europe. Recent statistics have highlighted the country’s swift advancement in deploying fibre to homes, surpassing all European counterparts in the annual growth rate. Over the past year until September 2023, the UK has extended its fibre network to an additional 4.7 million households.
In a bold move that underscores its commitment to leading the UK’s fibre optic expansion, CityFibre has acquired Lit Fibre, a smaller but significant player in the market. This strategic acquisition is set to boost CityFibre’s reach by an additional 300,000 premises, signaling a significant step in its quest to become the nation’s third major infrastructure platform, alongside giants like Virgin Media O2 and Openreach.
TalkTalk has surged ahead to become the UK’s largest retail fibre broadband provider, boasting a service reach to over 15 million premises, edging out competitors like Vodafone and Zen Internet in the race for the broadest fibre network. This expansion has positioned TalkTalk at the forefront of the UK’s digital infrastructure landscape, despite facing operational hiccups.
In a bold move to accelerate the United Kingdom’s digital infrastructure, nexfibre, a UK-based wholesale fibre network provider, has committed to investing £1 billion during the 2024 financial year. This investment aims to significantly expand the country’s broadband capacity, focusing on areas currently underserved by existing networks.
Airtel Africa is redefining its enterprise, anticipating to leverage Africa’s burgeoning digital sector with the advent of its novel fibre wholesaler, Telesonic. The subsidiary will harness the power of Airtel’s vast terrestrial fibre network, bolstered by the firm’s stake in the pan-African submarine cable, 2Africa.
Altice Group strategically eyes shedding its 50.1% sharing in XpFibre, triggering a ripple of interest from major players like KKR & Co., Macquarie Group, and others. While KKR & Co, Macquarie Group, and CDPQ are all reported to be keen on acquiring the stake, no financial bids have surfaced to date. Meanwhile, Altice Group’s decision to divest isn’t surprising, given its $60 billion debt, and recent considerations to sell other assets.
As both the UK and US strive to deliver full-fibre broadband, each country grapples with its hurdles; one being persuading landlords to greenlight installation plans within their properties. In the UK, mechanisms are in place to enable operators to seek judicial access if landlord agreement is unattainable, a luxury the US lacks, suggesting the potential need for new legislative action in America. A monumental goal for both nations is eliminating the digital divide which requires a comprehensive combination of varied technology methods.
Discover Altnets and ISPA’s newly launched report’s deep dive into UK’s full fibre broadband sector. Unearth historical setbacks and the transformative impact of procurement strategies in this detailed analysis. Insight-packed, it fosters understanding of the sector’s intricacies and highlights Altnets’ contribution to the gigabit broadband transition.
In a strategic move to enhance their presence in the North West of England and the Midlands, Freedom Fibre and VX UK have announced a merger, forming a new entity named Freedom Fibre Limited. The combined operation will cover a substantial footprint of 285,000 premises, with Neil McArthur, founder and CEO of Freedom Fibre, leading the helm along with the current senior leadership team from Freedom Fibre.
As Germany’s “Gigabit funding 2.0” program faces potential budget reductions, there’s concern it may throttle the rollout process with overcrowded construction capacity, causing a potential lag in projects. Meanwhile, the Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs declares a €3.6 billion allocation for the ourishing fibre-optic network industry.
