Netomnia Based ISP YouFibre Joins CityFibre’s UK Full Fibre Network

Gigabit broadband ISP YouFibre, which until now has been closely wedded to Netomnia’s ongoing project to build a Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network to cover 1 million UK premises by the end of 2023, has today announced the unexpected extension of their service to include CityFibre’s network in Middlesbrough (North Yorkshire).

According to the announcement, the partnership with CityFibre will significantly enhance access to YouFibre’s internet services to tens of thousands of extra households by the end of 2023. But on the face of it, this move might appear to be a little unusual, since YouFibre and Netomnia were both setup by the same people and remain closely linked.

However, Netomnia’s current rollout plan does not enter the town of Middlesbrough itself, although they do intend to get close with their rollout across the bordering town of Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham. In short, this appears to be the first indication that YouFibre will be strategic in extending its reach by harnessing other networks to go beyond Netomnia.

Cityfibre itself is currently investing £5bn+ to cover up to 8 million premises – across around 285 cities, towns and villages (c.30% of the UK) – by the end of 2025 (here). So far, the operator has already covered 2 million UK premises – with 1.8m Ready For Service (RFS) via a supporting ISP (here).

As part of that Cityfibre are investing £42m to rollout their network across Middlesbrough, which began in 2021 and is due for completion by 2024. But we suspect that Middlesbrough may not be the only town where YouFibre finds a use for an alternative network to help expand their coverage beyond Netomnia’s planned build.

Ryan Battle, MD of YouFibre, said:

“Today marks an exciting milestone for YouFibre as we connect our first customer to our internet services via the CityFibre network. This new partnership will enable us to rapidly scale and grow our customer base in line with our ambition to offer our ultrafast, ultra-affordable services across the UK, initially in the North East following the strong uptake we have already seen in the area.

Our flexible and agile business model allows us to connect onto any broadband network and provide vital internet services across the country, enabling reliable ultrafast speeds and online access for decades to come.”

Steph Carter-Smith, CityFibre’s Area Manager for Middlesbrough, said:

“We are very pleased to be welcoming ISP YouFibre to our network in Middlesbrough. This is fantastic news for residents as it means they will have further choice when upgrading their home connectivity to Full Fibre.

It also provides further proof that our open-access model is helping to bring more competition to the market. This, in turn, is accelerating the rollout of faster and more reliable digital connectivity across the country, while helping to drive better service, value of money and overall experience for consumers.”

YouFibre itself offers unlimited usage, symmetrical speeds, a Wi-Fi router, free installation and 24/7 UK based support. Customers pay from just £22 per month on an 18-month term for their unlimited 50Mbps package, which rises to £45 if you want their top 900Mbps plan (£50 thereafter). This is currently being offered with 3-6 months of free service. But we don’t currently know if those in Middlesbrough will get the same deals.