Nexfibre Fined £41k for Safety Failings During UK Full Fibre Rollout UPDATE

Broadband network builder nexfibre, which shares some of the same parentage as retail UK ISP partner Virgin Media (VMO2), has been hit with fines and charges totalling £11.3k in Somerset and £30k in Devon (England) after the local courts found them guilty of various roadworks offences that “posed a danger to pedestrians“.

Just for 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 full 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.

The operator has so far covered 1 million premises with their Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) lines and are also in the process of investing another £1bn during 2024 to cover another million. But unfortunately, some of their street works (civil engineering), which harnesses Virgin Media’s build engine, has fallen foul of good safety standards.

Firstly, Somerset Council, via the Taunton Magistrates Court, prosecuted the firm (here) following works carried out in Bridgwater. Nexfibre admitted “failing to install proper traffic management to ensure the safety of pedestrians” while working in two of the town’s streets in breach of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991.

The Two Somerset Offences

• On Tuesday 12 September 2023, Nexfibre Ltd carried out street works at Taunton Road, Bridgwater, Somerset, in contravention of S65 of NRSWA 1991 by failing to install traffic management to ensure the safety of pedestrians, particularly those with disabilities and the travelling public affected by the works.

• On Thursday 21 September 2023, Nexfibre Ltd carried out street works at Westonzoyland Road, Bridgwater, Somerset, again in contravention of S65 of NRSWA 1991 by failing to install traffic management to ensure the safety of pedestrians, particularly those with disabilities and the travelling public affected by the works.

Along with the two charges in Somerset, Nexfibre also pleaded guilty to “nine similar charges” in Devon and had to pay a total of £30k in fines and charges.

Richard Wilkins, Somerset Council’s Lead Member for Digital, said:

“We take these sorts of offences very seriously, carrying out works without proper measures is simply unacceptable. We will take action if companies are in breach of their duties. Our message to the public is please report issues to Somerset Council if you see them – help us to make sure companies work in a safe and considerate manner.

The court imposed fines totalling £8,000, costs of £3,325 for the offences in Somerset.”

The Taunton Magistrates Court did, however, give Nexfibre credit for entering guilty pleas “at the earliest opportunity” and accepting the mitigation measures. But they also found “aggravating factors in that the works were deficient in any pedestrian safety and therefore there was a danger to pedestrians and road users alike and that the offences were numerous and committed over two counties“. We have asked Nexfibre to comment.

UPDATE 28th May 2024

The response took a bit longer than usual due to the Bank Holiday, but it just dropped into our inbox.

A Spokesperson for nexfibre told ISPreview:

“We take these incidents very seriously and are disappointed that our third-party contractor fell short of the high standards both we and the council rightly expect. Safety is always our top priority when working to bring our full fibre network to more homes and businesses and we are working with the contractor to ensure this does not happen again.”