Alternative Broadband Networks Zzoomm and FullFibre Complete UK Merger

Alternative broadband operators Zzoomm and FullFibre Limited (Fibre Heroes), both of which have been rolling out multi-gigabit speed capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) ISP networks across different parts of the UK, have today confirmed the completion of their recently announced merger (here). The deal has received all the necessary regulatory approvals.

The newly combined network reaches 600,000 premises (ready for service) and “over” 70,000 customers (up from 65k+ in January 2025) across England – serving parts of around 110 market towns, which makes it one of the largest UK altnets, combining a wholesale full fibre network provider alongside its in-house ISP retail companies (BeFibre and Zzoomm).

“The business will be in a much stronger position to accelerate organic growth across its two consumer brands and wholesale network. It will also be able to achieve greater operational and financial efficiencies through economies of scale. The larger group will be able to secure funding to support further investment in its networks and, as one of the largest Altnet businesses with excellent infrastructure, is well-positioned to drive M&A across the fragmented sector,” said today’s brief announcement.

Under the agreement, Matthew Hare, CEO of Zzoomm (pictured – left), will become Executive Chairman of the combined business, while James Warner, CEO of FullFibre (pictured – right), will be the new Group CEO. But it still remains to be seen how much “funding for new builds” might actually be secured and their future roll-out targets are similarly unclear.

The other factor to consider is that today may not mark the completed physical integration of the two networks and customer bases, which tends to be a much longer and more complex process (similar agreements have taken around a year, or sometimes longer, to deliver on this aspect). We suspect they may want to get that out of the way first before committing to a major new network expansion project.