MS3 Results Reveal UK Full Fibre Broadband Network Has 22,184 Customers
Hull-based alternative broadband operator MS3, which have built a full fibre (FTTP) network across parts of East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire in England, has published their annual results to the end of 2025 and revealed that they’re home to 22,184 customers (up from 14,992 in 2024) and cover 238,806 premises (212,561 RFS) – up from 228,522 last year (195,759 RFS).
The provider, which offers wholesale access to its network via around 30 retail ISPs / partners, has become best known for helping to weaken KCOM’s grip on the broadband market in Hull. But in recent times they’ve also had to slow their network build in order to focus more on commercialisation of their existing network, due to wider market pressures (here), which shows up in the new results.
MS3’s most recent results have been published via their holding company of Humber Topco Limited, although the text in their report is often quite small and blurry. The provider’s overall take-up rate, while going in the right direction (3,700 added in the past year), is still fairly low at 10.44% (based on the RFS figure) and the average number of employees has fallen to 117 (2024: 130).
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On the financial side, MS3 reported annual revenues of £5.38m (2024: £3.11m) and a gross profit of £1.22m (2024: £1.12m), albeit while making an operating loss of £14.33m (2024: £10.22m). The group also reported having overall net assets of £143.37m (2024: £128.95m). But as revealed last week (here), they have just gone EBITDA positive (i.e. earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation).
Going forward MS3 acknowledges many of the markets well-known pressures.
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads.net and Linkedin.
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There are still areas of MS3 partial build across Cottingham and Hull that remain of telegraph poles without any fibre connections between telegraph poles . This was hardly what government legislation permitted development for telecommunications installations was designed to allow , and really is a misuse of that legislation with the poles having been installed nearly two years ago in the most part . Ofcom should have a role in ensuring that MS3 remove these telegraph poles as they would in incomplete PIA builds
MS3 this, MS3 that, MS3 the best operator according to one of the latest “awards”. I genuinely thought they already had hundreds of thousands of customers, not around 20k.
Only 10% of the properties passed have taken up broadband from their IsPs and that’s maybe via Squirrel who offer very cheap broadband at the outset but will probably be unable to maintain those prices long term .Also telegraph poles installed that can’t even supply FFTP as no fibre installed . It shows the poor business plan