Nexfibre is a next-generation wholesale fibre network operator in the UK, set up to build and operate a new full‐fibre (FTTP) broadband infrastructure. It was established as a joint venture between Liberty Global, Telefónica, and InfraVia Capital Partners, backed by around £4.5 billion in combined equity and debt financing.
Ownership of the venture is split 50–50 between the parent companies of Virgin Media O2 (Liberty Global and Telefónica) and InfraVia, leveraging each partner’s expertise. As a wholesale-only provider, nexfibre focuses on constructing and maintaining a high-quality fibre network, which it offers to internet service providers (ISPs) rather than selling directly to consumers.
Virgin Media O2 – a major UK ISP jointly owned by Liberty Global and Telefónica – is the anchor tenant on nexfibre’s network and serves as the network construction partner, helping build the infrastructure.
Technology and Infrastructure: Nexfibre’s network uses state-of-the-art XGS-PON technology – a 10 Gigabit-capable symmetric passive optical network standard. This means the infrastructure can support gigabit and multi-gigabit speeds, with up to 10 Gbps upload and download bandwidth in the future. The passive optical design also improves energy efficiency, as fewer active powered components are needed in the network.
In practical terms, nexfibre is rolling out fibre-optic cables directly to homes and businesses (FTTP), enabling “hyper-fast” broadband connectivity. The company’s mission is to create a national-scale fibre network across the UK, targeting areas that have been underserved by high-speed broadband to date.
By the end of 2026, nexfibre plans to have 5 million premises passed with its full-fibre network, potentially expanding to about 7 million in subsequent years.
This substantial rollout is positioning nexfibre as a significant new infrastructure platform in the UK telecommunications landscape, intended to complement and compete with existing networks.
Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) is the flagship client for nexfibre and plays a dual role as partner and customer. Essentially, nexfibre builds out the fibre network in areas where Virgin Media’s own cable network does not reach, and Virgin Media in turn offers retail broadband services over that new fibre. This arrangement allows Virgin Media O2 to extend its broadband footprint into towns and regions that were previously outside its legacy network coverage.
Every time nexfibre lays new fibre cables in an area, Virgin Media can immediately start selling ultra-fast broadband to homes there via a wholesale agreement. For example, in late 2023 and 2024, Virgin Media began launching services in a number of new locations—such as Northallerton and Doncaster—where full-fibre broadband was made available for the first time thanks to nexfibre’s investment.
In Northallerton alone, 8,000 additional homes gained access to Virgin Media’s gigabit-speed services through the nexfibre network, delivering speeds up to 18 times faster than the local average broadband connection.
This partnership is a cornerstone of Virgin Media O2’s expansion strategy. Nexfibre’s £4.5 billion network rollout is slated to cover 5 million new premises by 2026, all of which Virgin Media O2 can serve as the initial ISP.
Alongside Virgin’s separate project to upgrade its existing cable footprint to fibre, the nexfibre rollout will enable Virgin Media O2 to reach up to 23 million homes (around 80% of the UK) with fibre broadband by 2028.
In practical terms, nexfibre provides the infrastructure in new areas, and Virgin Media offers the retail products—such as broadband and TV—over that infrastructure. Virgin has even introduced new packages to leverage the full capabilities of the nexfibre network. Notably, it launched a “Gig2” broadband service offering 2 Gbps download speeds in nexfibre-served areas.
This 2 Gbps package, enabled by nexfibre’s XGS-PON fibre technology, represents one of the fastest widely available residential broadband options in the UK. Additionally, Virgin’s TV services are delivered over the new fibre via its IPTV platform, demonstrating that nexfibre’s network supports high-bandwidth uses beyond just internet access.
Overall, nexfibre’s role is to fuel Virgin Media’s growth into new markets by providing the fibre-optic highways, while Virgin Media supplies the cars (internet and entertainment services) that run on those highways.
Nexfibre’s new full-fibre network is now live as Virgin Media O2 launches its commercial services on our advanced XGS-PON platform for the very first time. This marks a significant milestone in the mission to deliver ultra-fast broadband connectivity to millions of homes and businesses across the UK.
As of 30 September 2024, the network has reached 1,557,000 premises – all ready for service. This achievement is underpinned by a clear strategy and a robust £4.5 billion investment from world-class investors, including InfraVia Capital Partners, Liberty Global, and Telefónica.
With the support of construction partner and anchor wholesale tenant Virgin Media O2, nexfibre’s rollout is ramping up rapidly. The hyper-fast network leverages the latest XGS-PON technology to deliver symmetrical speeds of up to 10 Gbps, ensuring that the infrastructure is both future-proof and energy efficient.
Looking ahead, the plan is to extend full-fibre connectivity to 5 million premises by the end of 2026, with the potential to expand to an additional 2 million premises thereafter. This initiative not only creates the UK’s first national-scale challenger to BT Openreach but also boosts competition by extending Virgin Media O2’s fibre footprint to up to 23 million homes by 2028.
Furthermore, insights from industry analysis emphasize the importance of a robust, national-scale fibre network to drive sustainable competition and support the UK’s digital economy.
The launch of nexfibre has significant implications for broadband competition in the UK. It creates a major new player in the fibre infrastructure arena, directly challenging the dominance of BT Openreach (the incumbent national network) and competing with other alternative network providers. Nexfibre was conceived as the first national-scale challenger to Openreach, accelerating full-fibre deployment and increasing choice for ISPs and consumers.
The scale of the venture – aiming for millions of premises – places nexfibre among the largest fibre builders in the country. By early 2025, the network had reached a milestone of 2 million premises passed in roughly two years, making it the second-largest “alt-net” in the UK behind CityFibre, which currently leads with over 4 million premises passed and an ambitious build target.
Nexfibre’s presence is boosting competition both regionally and nationally. Many of the targeted areas are suburban or semi-rural locales that previously might have had limited options from incumbents or small local providers. With nexfibre enabling Virgin Media O2 to enter these markets, residents now have a new choice for gigabit broadband, often breaking existing local monopolies or duopolies. This competitive dynamic has spurred rival networks like CityFibre to accelerate their rollouts.
The large-scale commitment—with billions in funding and a rapid build tempo—has raised the stakes for everyone in the UK broadband market. Its unique partnership model, combining telecom expertise and substantial infrastructure financing, may also influence future collaborations across the sector.
Nexfibre’s regulatory report, “UK Fibre: A Fork In the Road,” examines the current challenges and opportunities in the UK fibre market ahead of Ofcom’s Telecoms Access Review (TAR). The report outlines how recent investments and expanded competition have significantly increased full-fibre broadband coverage, even though the market started from a low base.
The report notes that alternative network providers have injected much-needed competition into the market, prompting even incumbent operators to invest in upgrading their networks. Key initiatives, such as improvements in Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA) regulation, have helped reduce building costs and accelerate network deployments.
However, the report also highlights that the current number of market operators is unsustainable in the long term. Many smaller, sub-scale networks face challenges from low customer penetration and financial pressures, making market consolidation both inevitable and necessary.
To ensure a sustainable, national-scale competitive landscape, the report recommends that regulators address several critical issues:
The report underscores that full-fibre infrastructure is critical to the UK’s digital ambitions, serving as a backbone for growth, innovation, and a more inclusive economy.
Nexfibre’s rollout roadmap is ambitious and ongoing. The immediate goal is to reach 5 million premises by the end of 2026 with its full-fibre network, focusing on areas beyond Virgin Media’s legacy footprint. After reaching that target, the joint venture has the option to extend the build to about 7 million total premises (an additional 2 million) in subsequent years.
Progress so far suggests they are on track – as of December 2024, nexfibre had already passed 2,000,000 premises with its fibre ready for service in roughly two years since the project’s launch. The rollout is national in scope, with significant builds in regions such as Doncaster (Yorkshire), Kent and East Sussex, Lancashire, and even parts of Scotland and Wales.
In 2025, the focus will be on key areas such as Derbyshire, Kent, East Sussex, and additional towns in Northern England, aligning with broader UK government broadband goals. Combined with Virgin Media O2’s separate initiative to upgrade its existing 14 million cable premises to FTTP by 2028, this coordinated effort could enable roughly 80% of UK homes to access fibre-optic broadband by the late 2020s.
On the technological front, the deployment of XGS-PON means the network is built to support symmetrical multi-gigabit speeds up to 10 Gbps. While current consumer packages may only use a fraction of this capacity, the infrastructure is designed for future upgrades – potentially even integrating next-gen standards like 25G-PON. Additionally, the passive optical network architecture reduces energy consumption and improves network reliability.
Looking ahead, nexfibre plans to broaden its wholesale partnerships. While Virgin Media O2 is the anchor client now, the open-access model means that in a few years customers in nexfibre-connected areas might have a choice of ISPs—including potentially major providers like Sky, TalkTalk, or regional operators—all offering services over the same fibre infrastructure.
The advent of nexfibre-backed services brings tangible benefits to consumers, particularly in areas that previously lacked high-speed broadband. By targeting underserved communities, nexfibre is bridging the digital divide—transforming connections from slow ADSL or limited fibre to gigabit-era speeds.
For example, when nexfibre’s full-fibre network went live in Northallerton, residents gained access to speeds up to 2 Gbps—roughly 18 times faster than the local average. This improvement facilitates seamless 4K streaming, HD video calls, cloud gaming, and efficient downloads of large files. Households with many devices can operate simultaneously without slowdown.
The network’s fibre-optic architecture ensures low latency and consistent performance, meaning that users generally receive speeds close to what is advertised. In addition, nexfibre’s technology supports symmetrical upload and download speeds, which is particularly advantageous for activities such as uploading large files, video conferencing, and live streaming.
In essence, customers in nexfibre-served areas move from slower, less reliable connections to a robust, high-speed network that enhances both daily convenience and long-term digital potential.
Despite the strong backing and rapid rollout, nexfibre faces several challenges and potential limitations. The UK broadband market is highly competitive with overlapping efforts from Openreach, CityFibre, and numerous smaller alternative network providers. In areas with multiple networks, overbuild can reduce the take-up rate for each provider, challenging the business case.
Regulatory decisions by Ofcom are also critical, as nexfibre positions itself against the dominant incumbent, Openreach. The company has urged regulators to maintain strict oversight of Openreach to prevent anti-competitive practices that could hinder investment and innovation.
Deployment and operational challenges are significant as well. Rolling out fibre to millions of premises requires managing permits, coordinating contractors, and ensuring quality control across numerous simultaneous projects. Integrating acquired infrastructure – such as the regional fibre provider Upp, which added approximately 175,000 premises – further complicates operations.
Financially, the venture’s £4.5 billion investment depends on high subscriber uptake to become viable. While Virgin Media O2’s commitment offers a built-in customer base, competitive pressures and economic fluctuations (such as rising construction costs or financing expenses) could impact profitability over the long term.
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