Nexfibre UK Target FTTP Broadband for 40k Premises in Durham

Network operator nexfibre, which shares some of the same parentage as Virgin Media UK (VMO2), has announced that they expect to cover 40,000 premises across Durham during 2024 with their new 10Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP network – most of which (over 30,000 premises) will be in the Sedgefield constituency.

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).

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.

The latest move into Sedgefield makes sense as Virgin Media doesn’t currently have any presence in the town. The investment will also move into other areas of Newton Aycliffe including, Trimdon, Trimdon Grange, Fishburn, Chilton, Ferryhill and Cornforth.

Rajiv Datta, CEO of nexfibre, said:

“We are committed to delivering high quality full-fibre connectivity to communities and business across the UK, including in Sedgefield and the wider county of Durham. By boosting access to broadband, we are enabling access to the tools needed to participate and thrive in a modern, digital society and stoking growth in the local economy.”

Paul Howell, MP for Sedgefield (Pictured), said:

“The investment nexfibre is making in Newton Aycliffe, Trimdon, Trimdon Grange, Fishburn, Sedgefield, Chilton, Ferryhill, and Cornforth will create jobs, drive economic growth and help provide better services for people locally. This Conservative government has made boosting access to fibre broadband a priority and we are delivering that for local people and communities here in the North East and across the country.

I welcome the work nexfibre is doing to increase access to quality broadband and provide the national scale competition that will drive the innovation and progress the UK needs in the fibre market.”

Now if they could just add some other ISPs to nexfibre’s network, ideally ones with products that aren’t restricted to mirroring Virgin Media’s pricing. A truly independent wholesale network must be able to offer products that are both fair and competitive for other internet providers.