Broadband ISP Voneus Acquire Welsh Rival IRG Computers

Wireless and full fibre UK ISP Voneus, which is backed by Macquarie Capital, has continued to expand its operations in South Wales by acquiring IRG Computers, which is the company behind ResQNet – a wireless internet provider that serves rural areas across parts of Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire and the Swansea Valleys.

Voneus, which has been on somewhat of an acquisition spree over the past few years, recently expanded their operations in South Wales by moving to larger premises on Jolly Tar Lane (The MacGregor Office Suite) in Carmarthen. This followed the earlier acquisition of another Welsh ISP, Cardigan-based Dyfed IT (fibre and wireless ISP Dyfed Superfast).

The provider, which also holds a “near term” target to connect 100,000 rural UK homes to their Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network (here), now appears to have gobbled IRG Computers. Details on the Companies House site for IRG show that their address changed yesterday to match that of Voneus and there was also a related change at Director level, with Voneus’ CEO, Steven Leighton, taking on the role.

Like a lot of Voneus’ recent acquisitions, IRG’s wireless ISP ResQNet is a fairly small service with over 1,200 customers, albeit still home to a reasonably sizeable network footprint in South West Wales. After a bit of digging, we found the following statement on this agreement from ResQNet.

ResQNet Customer Statement

We have some exciting news for you. ResQNet (IRG Computers) is now part of Voneus Broadband!

Voneus is one of the UK’s largest rural broadband providers, who specialise in bringing superfast and ultrafast broadband to some of the hardest-to-reach areas across the UK.

With their team in Carmarthen, the focus will be on upgrading the network so all customers can enjoy a reliable and fast connection.

We can assure you that there will be NO change to your prices or existing contracts. Your broadband product and speed will also remain the same for the time being. But Voneus will be working hard to upgrade and improve your service imminently.

They will be in touch with you directly with more info. In the meantime, the team at ResQNet will continue to serve you and any service needs you have.

Please continue to call the usual number for service-related questions on 01269 500055.

The move will no doubt help Voneus to continue growing scale and will also provide them with a new set of customers, some of which may in the near future benefit from a migration to their new FTTP network. But this part of Wales is also being targetted by full fibre deployments from rival operators, such as Ogi and Openreach, so it could be a bumpy ride.