Today, access to connectivity is a basic essential in modern life. However, a booming digital economy requires more than the basics; it requires access to higher speeds, greater resilience and better quality. The wholesale telecoms market must support the needs of today’s digital economy, while also ensuring it helps meet future demands and is able to scale as needs inevitably evolve.
Slow starts and economic challenges
The UK has been slow in deploying full-fibre capability, lagging behind its European counterparts. This has largely been due to the incumbent’s monopolistic control over access, resulting in a historical underinvestment in the essential digital infrastructure need to deliver the next generation of connectivity.
While in recent years we’ve seen a number of new entrants to the market start building full-fibre, due to the current dynamics in the financial market, a number of these altnets are facing financial challenges, meaning consolidation in this space is now inevitable. However, it is crucial that the final market structure includes genuine competition at an infrastructure level and at a national scale to ensure the UK doesn’t repeat the same mistakes of the past.
Changing the shape of the competitive landscape
At nexfibre, the whole team is working towards not just transforming access to full-fibre broadband for those previously underserved, but also shaping the market by providing much-needed long-term competition. We are here to be the sustainable catalyst that is required to drive progress and innovation, and in doing so stoke the growth the UK economy needs.
As a wholesale-only provider we are uniquely positioned in the market. We have a tremendous ability to invest thanks to our world-class strategic investors, who bring both funding and an in-depth understanding of the industry. We are also in the position of having Virgin Media O2, the second-largest retail ISP in the UK, as our anchor tenant and build partner.
Proving we can deliver
We’re already showcasing our ability to bring sustainable competition to the market, exemplified by our plan to invest £1bn in broadband infrastructure this year. We’ve made significant progress towards our target of building our network to 5 million premises by 2026, having confirmed on 17 April 2024 that we have passed 1 million premises. In fact, I believe we will build more than any other altnet in the UK this year.
As we head further into 2024, we are focused on ramping up our rollout, playing an active role in market consolidation, and actively working with growth-focused ISPs, that prioritise quality, stability and customer service, to bring them onto our network. I could not be prouder of the progress that has been made so far and offer my thanks to whole team for all their efforts as we continue to accelerate the pace of build. And we’re just getting started, there’s more to do; expect to see us push on this year and beyond.
Our mission matters
The only way the UK market can grow and innovate and make up lost ground on its western counterparts is through sustainable competition. Without it, the UK won’t have the connectivity that is essential for a healthy and growing economy. I really do believe nexfibre is the fibre access provider the UK deserves.