Nexfibre Make Progress on FTTP Rollout for 22k Premises in Leicestershire

Network operator nexfibre, which shares some of the same parents as Virgin Media UK (VMO2), has announced that they’ve expanded their 10Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP / XGS-PON) broadband ISP network to cover 2,000 premises in Loughborough – forming part of their plan to reach 22,000 premises in Leicestershire during 2024.

The company has already covered 1 million premises across the UK with their new full fibre network, and they’re currently in the process of investing another £1bn during 2024, which should enable them to cover an additional 1 million UK premises (on top of their existing footprint). But we should point out that Virgin Media already covers most of Loughborough, which makes this build more of a complementary expansion (infill).

Just for some context. Telefónica, Liberty Global and InfraVia Capital Partners originally setup the new £4.5bn nexfibre joint venture in 2022 (here), which aims to deploy an open access fibre network to reach “up to” 7 million UK homes (starting with 5m by 2026) in areas NOT currently served by Virgin Media’s network of 16m+ premises. The funding reflects £3.3bn of fully underwritten financing and up to £1.4bn in equity commitments.

Fernando Molina, CTIO at nexfibre, said:

“Delivering our high-quality, future-proofed network to over 2000 premises across Loughborough – and the wider Leicestershire area – is part of our mission to provide lasting value to the people and places we serve. By boosting access to broadband, we are enabling local communities to access the tools they need to participate and thrive in a modern, digital society and stoking growth in the local economy. Myself and the whole nexfibre team look forward to working with local leaders as we deliver on our commitment to provide next generation broadband to thousands.”

Sadly, the announcement doesn’t state precisely how many premises in Loughborough itself are expected to benefit from this work by completion.