Virgin Media O2 Add 251k FTTP Premises and Sells UK Tower Stake

Broadband ISP and mobile giant VMO2 (Virgin Media and O2) has published their Q3 2023 results, which sees their UK full fibre (FTTP) coverage via nexfibre expand to another 250,800 premises (up from 175.5k in Q2) and their fixed broadband base rise to 5,708,100 (up by 40.8k in Q3 vs -15.3k in Q2). VMO2 has also sold a 16.67% stake in Cornerstone for £360m.

The operator has done well to significantly improve their broadband take-up, particularly given the otherwise dismal showing in Q2. But that period probably suffered due to the impact of annual price hikes and the ending of student packages.

The other big news today is that VMO2 sold part (16.67%) of their stake in Cornerstone for £360m (cash) to GLIL Infrastructure (a partnership of UK pension funds), which means VMO2 will retain a 33.33% stake and so will continue co-controlling the entity alongside Vantage Towers. Cornerstone forms part of a network sharing agreement with rival Vodafone (Vantage Towers) and maintains the UK’s largest mobile tower network.

The sale, which has been structured through a VMO2 holding company (HoldCo), has no impact on the current network sharing agreement and the proceeds are expected to help support the operators ongoing roll-out of 5G and 4G mobile connectivity.

One key change to highlight in this update is that nexfibre’s build figures have increased significantly since Q2 2023 and this isn’t linked to their recent acquisition of Upp’s full fibre network and customer base – here (i.e. an extra 175,000 premises passed and 4,000 customers). This is because VMO2 are still in the process of completing Upp’s integration, thus neither their network coverage nor customer base factors into the Q3 results.

Just to recap. VMO2’s own gigabit-capable broadband network – delivered via a mix of both Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) and Fibre-to-the-Premises (RFoG and XGS-PON) technology – covers around 16.1 million premises and is closed to rival ISPs. But they’re also the anchor tenant ISP for nexfibre‘s open wholesale network, which is expanding FTTP to reach “up to” 7 million UK homes in areas NOT served by VMO2 itself (5m by 2026).

The key thing here is that VMO2’s total fixed network reach can thus be considered a combination of both its own coverage and that of nexfibre, which is why they report related build figures in VMO2’s announcements instead of separately. In theory, this could push the combined VMO2 and nexfibre footprint to nearly 80% of the UK by 2028 (23 million premises); VMO2’s HFC network is also due to be upgraded to FTTP by then.

In that sense, it’s good to see nexfibre add another 250,800 premises passed in the last quarter, which underlines the ramping-up of their build. The combined VMO2 + nexfibre network now reaches around 16.7 million Homes Serviceable (up from 16.4m in Q2).

Nexfibre Rollout Progress
Q3 2023 = 250,800 Premises
Q2 2023 = 175,500 Premises
Q1 2023 = 107,800 Premises
Q4 2022 = 24,000 Premises

NOTE: A tiny portion of the above figures include a small bit of infill build for Virgin Media itself (separate to nexfibre). Some 4 million VMO2 and nexfibre premises will be on FTTP by the end of 2023.

The operator’s mobile base has also grown during Q3, which comes after they suffered a decline in Q2 following the loss of a smaller MVNO client.

Quarterly UK Customer (Connection) Figures – Q3 2023
5,708,100 Fixed Broadband – (up from 5,667,300 in Q2)
44,605,200 Mobile inc. Wholesale – (up from 43,955,600)

The operator has now deployed 5G mobile across more than 3,200 towns and cities (up from 2,800 in Q2) and they remain on-track to deliver 5G services to over 50% of the outdoor UK population in 2023, although this is well behind the likes of EE and Three UK that hit such a figure in early 2022.

On the financial front, VMO2 reported total transaction adjusted revenue of £2,769.1m in Q3 2023, which is up from £2,710.3m last quarter.

Lutz Schüler, CEO of Virgin Media O2, said:

“With wider economic pressures persisting, Q3 has remained a tough environment to navigate as some consumers tighten spend, notably across mid-tier TV, home phone and on low-margin handsets.

However, notwithstanding these factors, Q3 has seen positives – the implementation of price increases across the second quarter have led to service revenue growth; we’ve returned to strong customer additions across the board; and our converged fixed-mobile proposition continues to perform well, with 1.75 million people now taking a Volt bundle.

We are continuing to invest in our products, services and networks to give our customers an even better experience. This has included bringing 5G connectivity to new areas and expanding our fixed network footprint faster than ever before to reach over half a million new fibre premises so far this year.

We’ll continue to be opportunistic in the market where the economics and strategic logic stacks up as recently demonstrated through the successful acquisition of Upp, and the sale of a minority stake in our mobile tower joint venture Cornerstone.

Despite external pressures, we remain firmly focused on delivering for our customers in line with our core strategy.”

Elsewhere, VMO2 report that the average download speeds across their broadband base increased 34% year-on-year to 349Mbps, while a total of 1.75 million customers now take one of their converged fixed-mobile Volt bundles.

However, there is a notable absence in VMO2’s latest results, which reflects any mention of their Pay TV base. Companies often tend to stop reporting results for products when they’re either being discontinued or suffering from a customer decline. In this case, we suspect it’s the latter.