nexfibre in 1m premises
April 17, 2024
nexfibre, the next generation fibre network operator, has reached a total of one million premises passed and ready for service.
nexfibre’s goal is to deliver its full-fibre network to 5 million premises by 2026. To achieve this, the business is investing £1 billion in the UK’s broadband infrastructure this year as part of its plans to drive long-term competition in the fibre access market, on a national scale.
nexfibre has reached one million premises in just 14 months, through its build partnership with Virgin Media O2. The business is set to deliver its network to more premises than any other fibre provider in 2024, except for the incumbent, which will make it the UK’s second largest network provider in only its second year of operations.
nexfibre is a wholesale-only provider, which it says enables it to focus entirely on building and maintaining a technologically advanced, full-fibre infrastructure platform for all ISPs and businesses to meet their needs. Today Virgin Media O2 provides broadband services reaching speeds of up to 2Gbps across the nexfibre network.
Rajiv Datta, Chief Executive Officer of nexfibre, said: “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. 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.
Data and Digital Infrastructure Minister, Julia Lopez, said: “Slow connectivity not only hinders economic growth but also affects people’s quality of life. It is our mission to make sure nobody in Britain is held back by this, and this is why we are delivering the fastest connectivity on the market across the country. In addition to Project Gigabit, a government-funded £5 billion project targeting hard-to-reach areas, it’s fantastic to see the private sector investing on such a scale. Today’s milestone represents a huge vote of confidence in both the telecoms sector and the government’s plan for achieving nationwide gigabit capable connectivity by 2030.”
Lutz Schüler, Chief Executive Officer at Virgin Media O2, added: “The build programme is delivering at pace and is underpinned by an ambitious plan that’s already extended fibre to one million new premises. 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.”