Nexfibre Publish Q2 2024 UK Full Fibre Broadband Rollout Update
Network operator nexfibre, which shares some of their parentage with retail ISP partner Virgin Media (VMO2), has this morning published their latest quarterly (Q2 2024) progress update on the roll-out of their new 10Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP / XGS-PON) broadband ISP network. This includes details on build locations for 2025 and early 2026.
We’ll start with the usual recap. Back in 2022 Telefónica, Liberty Global and InfraVia Capital Partners setup nexfibre as a new £4.5bn joint venture (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 served by Virgin Media’s own network of 16m+ premises. The funding reflects £3.3bn of fully underwritten financing and up to £1.4bn in equity commitments.
The operator has already deployed their network to cover 1,277,800 premises ‘Ready for Service’ (up from 986,000 in the last update), which doesn’t yet include last year’s acquisition of Upp and its c.175,000 premises, and they’re in the process of investing another £1bn this year to help cover an additional 1 million UK premises (i.e. on top of their existing coverage). This should get them to around c.2m by the end of 2024.
Advertisement
The latest report also reveals planned build locations for 2025 and early 2026, with a “significantly expanded footprint” being planned for previously underserved areas of North Wales and Scotland. The next stage will also see “high volumes of build” in Eastbourne, Weymouth and Nantwich.
Sadly, nexfibre doesn’t provide a neat spreadsheet style table to highlight new additions to their build plan (at least not one we can easily paste), although they do provide something similar via their latest Q2 2024 Rollout Update (PDF) and there’s also a fairly vague visual map of their progress.
Nexfibre UK Build Update Map for Q2 2024
Advertisement
Rajiv Datta, CEO of nexfibre, said:
“It is thanks to the hard work of our team, our partners – including our build partner Virgin Media O2 – and our investors that we have been able to build at this pace and achieve this reach in such a short period of time.
We have exciting plans for 2025 and into 2026, which is part of our commitment to provide a nationwide alternative network and the competition in the fibre access market that the UK needs and deserves. Our work matters because, at its heart, better broadband improves the lives of people and communities across the country, boosts economic growth and will help the UK lead the digital future.”
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads.net and Linkedin.
« Sky UK Reveals Broadband Traffic, TV and Mobile Network Usage Stats
Latest UK ISP News
- FTTP (6119)
- BT (3676)
- Politics (2758)
- Business (2464)
- Openreach (2435)
- Building Digital UK (2355)
- Mobile Broadband (2184)
- FTTC (2093)
- Statistics (1938)
- 4G (1841)
- Virgin Media (1797)
- Ofcom Regulation (1605)
- Fibre Optic (1484)
- Wireless Internet (1473)
- 5G (1439)
Hi Mark, can we have a bit of explanation please?
I see my town is ticked in the PDF’s “Existing footprint” column. I did see some Nexfibre vans and interventions here and there around.
But when I go to the Virgin Media checker, and try different postcodes, it seems that nothing is available (not even mine)…
So what does this mean ?
Probably a question best put to nexfibre for specific areas/properties, but that column doesn’t necessarily mean the entire build is complete and / or RFS (Ready for Service). It also doesn’t guarantee 100% coverage of an area. Often there’s a fairly long lag of time between the point you see engineers finishing street works and the service itself actually going live.
can they make a better map?
Pleased to see they’ve taken the feedback on the previous iterations eh?
Why is it taking them so long to integrate UPPs footprint into their data? Since taking over, they seemed to have completely abandoned UPPs build program, as I have seen no further work done in my area and surrounding areas.
They also still spraying pavements with UPP in my area which tallies with the new map
That PDF is already out of date. Crewe went live recently I can order Virgins 2Gig package. Way too expensive though £90 a month is crazy. When I’m already with Zzoomm within the same area on the 2Gig package from them at £54.95.
This is one of the better things about Nexfibre, I wish all Alt’s did this.
Jeremey!
I’m in Coedpoeth. They put up quite a bit of infrastructure on poles in March and April and nothing since.
Madeley and Wellington is on the list but I think it not in Telford area? Isn’t it Mark. I can see Nxfibre is now ramping up in Broseley and Shifnal, Shropshire.
Any more news on Nexfibre wholesale to offer more than VM? I presume they are in no rush to do that, but nothing really since it was discussed in February. NetCo has 2025 date for that, but no date for Nexfibre.
I would assume VMO2 and Nexfibre wholesale platform would be unified. It would not make sense for an ISP to have to make separate agreements.
I noticed on the map that it appeared to cover my town of Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire. After checking the pdf, Hebden Bridge is on the list for 2025/26 completion.
Full Fibre announced in 2022 that they had taken the contract to do the upgrade work by 2026 and Hebden Bridge is still in the build plan on their website.
Now a bit confused who is now carrying out the build work for my area?
Some of the map shades are really bizarre. For example, Maidstone is on the list for 2025/26, but most of the town is already covered, so what is that work for?
I mean there are streets that aren’t covered so maybe it’s that, but that’s here and there rather than full no service areas.
I’ve seen nexfibre appear on one.network/bidb
but we’re not on the map, in the plans, nothing.
it’s all very odd. Wooton, Bedfordshire.
PIA to poles won’t appear on roadworks.
Interestingly Virgin owned the franchise for cable in eastbourne and hastings but Nynex as it was never laid an inch of cable only choosing Brighton instead. Is it even franchised anymore like ITV is? Or just permanently renewed by OFCOM?
We already have Cityfibre, lightning fibre. Not too long ago openreach upgraded to fibre. Now Virgin Media. That’s four networks.
Wouldn’t Virgin be better taking over lightning fibre? They would get eastbourne, hastings, bexhill etc… sure it wouldn’t be any competition concerns. All very interesting indeed.
There doesn’t appear to be too much information about that. There are only 2 remaining company’s providing traditional CATV services I believe: Virgin Media and WightFibre.
I imagine once both of them have rolled out FTTP over their existing HFC footprint, they will begin a phased withdrawal of the original CATV service. Although I would imagine that the withdrawal won’t be completed until sometime in the 2030s.
@Anon32: The cable franchises were for geographical areas, but with mergers and takeovers until NTL became the biggest by far in 2006 by buying Telewest (and renaming itself Virgin Media in 2007). The franchises by then were largely irrelevant, and became of no relevance after the two remaining little cablecos ceased to exist. Apart from USO, VM is regulated in the same way as BT/Openreach by OFCOM, and everyone can muscle into each other’s territory if they want (subject to local permits of course).
@yeehaa
Wightfibre are all done, their HFC switch off is completel.
VM aiming for 2035 – suspect it may take a bit longer
This map makes no sense.
Firstly, it MUST be deliberate that every map per news release is poor quality and exact areas cannot always be made out.
Secondly, areas are on there that already have VM HFC, yet according to this, they will be a new FTTP Nexfibre network outside of Project Mustang areas. Are they implying that some HFC areas will just be not upgraded and a new FTTP network using BT PIA will be done instead?
The maps are deliberately opaque for whatever implied commercial reasons.
They are indicative that some network will be created outside of any existing VM areas.
Mustang will not use PIA, it’s only for existing HFC duct upgrades
@anonymous: There are two networks being built: there is nexfibre’s and VM’s HFC which is being overbuilt with fibre for XGS-PON. In the end all VM customers will get FTTP.
Why is the map always completely useless?
So my town with no FTTP is shown on the map and a neighbouring town as planned for 2024 build yet on the PDF there’s no mention of any places in the area?
Very poor
Skelmersdale is on their 2024 list and they’ve made good on that promise. Their contractors, Redburn have been all over the place installing the network in the estate. Really friendly bunch of contractors who for the most part have done a decent job without too much disruption. My only issue is they’re only putting one connection point (Toby box) per two terraced houses and sadly the one outside my house is on the kitchen side of the house, not the living room where I would want the kit installing to.
Some properties in parts of town are able to order now but my estate, which had the cables run in March, are still showing as unavailable and nobody at Virgin or Nexfibre will tell me when the service will be good to order.
Is the vague nature of the map due to the competition being able to more accurately see where Nexfibre is targeting?
If so, they don’t have to include all addresses and postcodes specifically, just say 100% coverage of a shaded area isn’t guaranteed like the others do. We are kind of used to that with other providers!