AltNet Broadband ISP Voneus Boosted by Extra £25m Investment

Rural focused network builder and ISP Voneus, which currently aims to cover 350,000 UK premises via both their gigabit fixed wireless access (FWA) and Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband networks, has today secured a further £25m investment boost from Global Connectivity PLC (G-CON).

Voneus is currently being backed by up to £250m from investors such as Macquarie Capital, IIF, Tiger Infrastructure Partners and bank lenders. But the situation became a bit more complex after last year’s merger with SWS Broadband (Rural Broadband Solutions), Cadence Networks and Broadway Partners (here).

All of the above assets are now owned and operated through Voneus, which means Rural Broadband Solutions Holdings Limited (RBSHL) also owns a significant stake in Voneus Limited and Global Connectivity still retains its 15% stake in RBSHL. But today’s £25m capital investment by Voneus’ shareholders and lenders means that RBSHL increases its stake in the operator to 36% from 32%.

Keith Harris, G-CON Executive Chairman, said:

“We are happy that our partner in RBSHL has increased its relative funding and thereby increased our ownership position of Voneus.”

The extra investment will no doubt assist in the operator’s future deployment plans and possibly help to fuel more mergers, although in the meantime we remain in the dark as to the operator’s precise rollout plan. Voneus currently has networks in over 35 counties across England, Scotland and Wales.

Residential customers of their full fibre service pay from £34.99 per month (currently discounted to £29.99) on a 24-month term for their 250Mbps (symmetric speed) package with free installation, which rises to £59.99 for 900Mbps. The wireless package costs £34.99 per month too, but only offers speeds of 30-50Mbps. Most packages also offer the first 1-3 months of service for free.