Infrawatch: UK
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Products & ServicesRip & Restart: AllPoints launches aquila UK fibre wholesale platform
Days after Zen’s The Fibre Hub launch, Fern Trading outpost opens curtains on UK’s latest aggregator in effort to offer a simplified, stable route to ‘national’ ISP scale, with multiple FibreCos and B2B retailers already on board. Could this be the game-changer the altnet segment needs?
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Network & InfrastructureBT secures slice of Welsh rural broadband funding
Duo to deliver £10m fibre to hard-to-reach premises in Wales under the Swansea Bay City Region’s Digital Infrastructure Programme.
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M&AAllPoints ‘not for sale’ amid CityFibre M&A rumours
UK fibre wholesaler AllPoints Fibre Networks says it is not looking to sell after reports that CityFibre is discussing a potential acquisition with AllPoints stakeholder Fern Trading. Rumours come after AllPoints CEO Jarlath Finnegan said he is confident in the altnet’s financial position, as several players struggle to bag fresh financing…
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Venturing & InvestmentsActis looks for emerging infra opportunities after closing $1.7bn fund
London-based infrastructure investment group eyes fresh opportunities in digital infra (among other sectors) after closing latest fund, with focus on businesses in Asia, EMEA, and Latin America…
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Weekly BriefingsUK Infrawatch Briefing: altnets prove worth, AI plans develop, nexfibre stalls
Latest from the digital infra scene in the UK, including: UK MVNO market reinvigorated by challengers; Kao Data schmoozes with DSIT; a £70m network upgrade contract floated in Wales; people moves; and plenty more…
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Financial & PerformanceUK FibreCo Netomnia seeks positive EBITDA in 2025 after fundraise
Jeremy Chelot, CEO at UK fibre builder Netomnia, claims it is “poised” to achieve positive EBITDA in 2025, as well as to reach its end-of-year fibre rollout target of three million premises passed.
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InterviewA telco win-win: TXO adds ‘scale and breadth’ to network circularity proposition
In-depth: ‘A local business gone global’: Wales’ green dragon adds heft in US, following recent Europe and APAC expansion — extending bid to scale circular economy leadership and portfolio in global telco network supply and infrastructure value chain…
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Strategy & ChangeVM O2 slams brakes on NetCo fundraise amidst Telefónica strategy hiatus (nexfibre curtailed, too)
Plans to sell stake in NetCo spinout paused, as co-parent Liberty looks to “align” with partner Telefónica’s new management. nexfibre build also dramatically slowed to maintain “capital discipline” in UK’s “increasingly irrational” fibre market. Meanwhile, Netomnia raises new funds, ups target by another two millions homes…
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Network & InfrastructureBT exploring Edge DC play via towers arm
With the decommissioning of copper networks and a focus on AI-ready infrastructure, BT is investigating edge data centres amongst new commercial models for its tower and exchange assets. Explore the strategic implications (including reporting from TowerXchange Europe)…
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Public AffairsUK’s AI Growth Zone strategy — fit for purpose?
In-depth: As the UK government opens up its AI Growth Zone initiative for formal applications, industry leaders debate the value, variously describing it as everything from ‘ridiculous’ to ‘ambitious’, and running the risk of ‘fetishising’ location and creating a ‘real mess’, as well as presenting opportunity for the UK on a global stage. Includes reporting from Connected North…
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Weekly BriefingsUK Infrawatch Briefing: altnets and Openreach square up, data centres spread out
Latest from the digital infra scene in the UK, including: data centres embrace regional opportunities; overbuild threats loom; a closer‑than‑expected scale fibre platform; people moves; plenty more…
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Enterprise (B2B)One Touch Switching gathers momentum as attention turns to enterprise
Connected North: TOTSCo CEO Paul Bradbury talks up first several months of OTS in action, with lessons and technology now being put to use in enterprise switching trials.
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Financial & PerformanceCost leadership key as UK FibreCo Grain sows seeds of profitability
Connected North: Grain CEO Richard Cameron positions “cost leadership” as the key to long‑term success for a consolidating and converging altnet sector, following positive earnings in most recent quarter.
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EventwatchKao Data looks north for UK data centre expansion
Connected North 2025: Kao commercial chief Spencer Lamb says it is assessing multiple sites in north-western England to expand its data centre estate, as London power and land bottlenecks persist…
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EventwatchOpenreach and altnet ‘Gladiators’ trade blows on future costs of PIA
Connected North 2025: In robust exchanges at Connected North, Fibrus Chair warns regulator is on the verge of repeating mistakes of the past on PIA pricing, and too easily steered off course on policy.
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M&ACityFibre’s Holden: altnets and backers must pull together for investment‑grade nirvana
In-depth from Eight Advisory’s London event: as UK fibre altnets face financing challenges, optimistic CityFibre COO reveals vision for consolidation, suggesting sector is “a very small number of M&A transactions away” from creating a sufficiently scaled platform to rival BT/Openreach and VM O2. Additional Greg Mesch and Rob Hamlin coverage from FTTH Conference in Amsterdam…
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Network & InfrastructureINCA hails altnet heroes as spectre of overbuild looms
In a punchy, positive report altnet industry group INCA hails “dynamic” altnets on a mission to bring “fairer, faster, and more resilient” connectivity to the UK, but competitive benefits may not be sustainable, and the spectre of ‘supervillain’ Openreach still looms large.
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Weekly BriefingsUK Infrawatch Briefing: supply vulnerabilities, vendors value altnets, aggregation opportunities
Latest from the digital infra scene in the UK, including: APFN breaking down national fibre barriers, Xantaro driving Wildanet’s ‘aggressive’ expansion; DSIT tackling UK’s vendor duopoly; people moves, and plenty more…
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Network & InfrastructureOpenreach’s new deputy CEO: fibre take-up accelerating, ‘and we can go even faster’
FTTH Conference 2025: Katie Milligan teases Q4 build and take-up figures as Openreach keeps up the fibre rollout pace. Altnets reframe competition battle around migration…
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Suppliers & SCMNokia and Xantaro flag value of altnet supply deals
Kit vendor and solution provider sign contracts with Fibrus and Wildanet respectively as altnets emerge as increasingly significant to vendors…