All Fibre Challengers articles
-
M&ADT makes rare fibre M&A move with purchase of Essen estate
Local assets picked up from Dortmund-focused DOKOM21, marking DT’s first publicly-disclosed fibre transaction since creation of GlasfaserPlus in 2021…
-
PeoplewatchCityFibre hiring Neil McRae as CTIO — why?
In-depth: Former BT Chief Architect looks set to unexpectedly return to UK broadband. Is the largest fibre specialist looking to tap strategist’s deep understanding of incumbent and networks, or more recent experience in cloud and FWA?
-
InterviewCityFibre CTO plots PON roadmap to 50G and beyond
UK fibreco CTO David Tomalin talks PON future: XGS now in place and a 10–20 year technology roadmap that elects to leapfrog 25G. Vendor interoperability deemed marker of market maturity, with long-time favourites Calix and Nokia earning plaudits…
-
Analyst BriefingUK Infrawatch: Altnets in the “bleak” midwinter; D9 woes; Ofcom spots fibre strength
Latest from the digital infra scene in the UK, including: Gigaclear secures a modest future after Equitix, Digital 9 hit by surprise Arqiva valuation, Ofcom sees fibre access reach surprising highs, and plenty more…
-
Network & InfraUK fibre: debt-laden Gigaclear scoops funding after ‘disappointed’ investor steps back
Deep dive: Rural specialist confirms £80m+ injection and claims uncertain future now settled. But questions remain amid rumours of potential sale and in wake of strategic backer Equitix making a sharp exit, as the UK’s National Wealth Fund again resembles policy-led Project Gigabit backstop…
-
PeoplewatchQuickline CEO departs in top-level leadership refresh
Rural-focused UK altnet appoints finance and transformation expert Mark Bowden as CEO, with Sean Royce moving to take on an advisory role. Quickline also draws from its ranks to name a new CFO…
-
M&ANetomnia takeout rumours: first billion-dollar M&A for UK fibre?
Deep dive: Reports suggest Netomnia is in play, with cashed-up nexfibre/VM O2 and CityFibre tagged as frontrunners in the race to build a national fibre challenger to Openreach. TelcoTitans Infrawatch explores the backdrop, leading players (including Liberty Global and Telefónica), netco-servco dichotomy, and likeliest outcomes…
-
Analyst BriefingUK Infrawatch Analyst Briefing: banks wobble, equity plays chicken, altnets play baddies
Latest from the digital infra scene in the UK, including: Voneus calls bankers’ bluff, INCA anticipates altnet dominance, nexfibre seeks consolidation jumpstart, and plenty more…
-
Financial & PerformanceEquity vs debt: who blinks first in UK fibre consolidation showdown?
In-depth: While sector consolidation presents complexity for altnets seeking to evolve, challenges faced by financial backers invested through equity and loan facilities should not be underestimated.
-
Strategy & ChangeUK’s Netomnia targets ISP giants with YouMobile MVNO
Fibre altnet and wannabe convergence player set to launch mobile by the end of the year, piggybacking on the VodafoneThree network. CFO Wil Wadsworth and CEO Jeremy Chelot have sights set on the UK’s FMC establishment…
-
InterviewINCA CEO: ‘job done’ when altnets join Openreach as industry ‘baddies’
INCA Summit 2025: With consolidation looming and the next Telecoms Access Review on the horizon, the UK’s fibre landscape is at a tipping point. Altnets, however, are still reeling from (pantomime) villain Openreach’s latest pricing initiative, with disappointment at Ofcom inertia, and suspicion the incumbent is testing what it can get away with…
-
InterviewVoneus ‘plays chicken’ with banks and secures new funding
INCA Summit 2025: Macquarie and Voneus director Oliver Bradley indicates terms were renegotiated on Voneus’s existing £70m debt facility, and stakeholders injected further funds to secure the altnet’s future.
-
M&A‘We need to get on with it’: nexfibre boss wants to see altnet acquisition action
Fibreco chief suggests some investors will have to swallow losses on altnets as the industry goes into consolidation mode.
-
Analyst BriefingUK Infrawatch analyst briefing: write-down worries, results revelations, Openreach outrage
Latest from the digital infra scene in the UK, including: altnet debt reality bites, rivals sideswiped by Openreach discounts, CityFibre contract gains, and plenty more…
-
Financial & PerformanceAs lenders wobble on UK fibre, should altnets brace for potential write-downs?
FTTH Congress CEE: ING warns that lender peers are weighing up debt write-downs as UK and European fibrecos fail to deliver on business case promises. Altnet leaders warn that investors are ‘scarred’ by past shortcomings, but can be reconvinced…
-
Public Affairs‘Enormously aggressive’: nexfibre leads altnet complaints against Openreach copper-to-fibre discounting
Connected Britain 2025: As Openreach pulls levers to combat massive broadband losses, and drive fibre adoption alongside, altnet leaders have called out the discount pricing strategy as unsustainable. nexfibre execs have called it an exploitation of the incumbent’s significant market powers, CityFibre warns of structure advantage, plus views from other altnets, rivals…
-
Analyst BriefingUK Infrawatch analyst briefing: altnets assemble, convergence interest swells, finances reinforced
Latest from the digital infra scene in the UK, including: Chelot’s altnet future vision, Gamma on FMC opportunities, Project Gigabit funding updates, and plenty more…
-
Network & InfraExtra millions flow to UK fibrecos as Project Gigabit contracts updated
CityFibre once again sees a boost to a Project Gigabit contract value as Leicestershire & Warwickshire deal is updated and geographically expanded, becoming the latest fibreco to benefit from Project Gigabit perimeter adjustments…
-
Strategy & ChangeFrom upstart to fibre-mobile powerhouse: Netomnia CEO plots BT take-down
Connected Britain: Jeremy Chelot refreshes provocative vision for fibreco segment, with fixed-mobile convergence latest outcome of choice. The ultimate prize could be a scaled altnet merging with VodafoneThree, or a new MNO — creating a new heavyweight contender to BT/Openreach…
-
Strategy & ChangeGrain skewers wholesale model as altnets ponder consolidation
At Connected Britain the UK’s largest fibre platforms called on investors and smaller players to accept the inevitability of consolidation. Niche challenger Grain rebutted the assumption that scale is now critical, and instead called into question the foundations of current wholesale‑led models.