MS3 Cuts Jobs as Focus Shifts from UK Broadband Build to Take-up

Hull-based network operator MS3, which has already deployed their full fibre (FTTP) broadband ISP network across 234,000 premises (207k RFS) in the North of England and connected 18,000 customers (mostly in the Hull and Humber region), have started notifying staff of redundancies as they switch to commercialise the network.

Over the weekend ISPreview spotted that the company, which originally aspired to reach 535,000 UK premises with their wholesale gigabit fibre network by the end of 2025, appears to have started to inform part of their workforce – mostly members of their build team – about potential job cuts (this seems to have begun around Thursday last week). But the operator cannot yet say exactly how many jobs would be cut post-consultation.

However, the news of fresh redundancies shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, since a recent interview with the company’s CEO, Guy Miller, appeared to hint (here) that they were currently more focused on commercialisation (i.e. growing customer take-up) of what they’d already built.

“We’ll continue growing the customer base, we’ll continue building the network out. In terms of long-term targets … the market will determine that over the next few years and access to funds etc. We’re quite a rarity in that we are debt free and it’s fully equity invested … We’ll wait until the markets are more sensible before we commit to a huge RFS [build] target,” said Guy Miller.

At the same time, MS3 will also have been coming under pressure from many of the same strains as other alternative builders of UK fibre networks, particularly with respect to rising build costs, high interest rates (this makes securing new funding particularly difficult) and competition.

A Spokesperson for MS3 told ISPreview:

“Over the last three years, MS3 has successfully built a new fibre network passing well over 200,000 homes and businesses. Our priority now is to focus on growing our connected base of over 17,000 customers and ensuring we are self-sustaining.

As a result, we have proposed a number of roles in our business for redundancy and are currently consulting on the matter. We are unable to comment further during this period.”

The operator’s full fibre network currently has fairly extensive coverage across Hull (previously dominated only by KCOM), as well as strong coverage in Wath upon Dearne, Swinton, Scunthorpe, Immingham, Grimsby, part of Cleethorpes, Hedon, Brough, Welton, Melton, North Ferribly and Swanland etc.

However, MS3 could now end up becoming a consolidation target for other altnets, such as larger players seeking greater scale. Speaking of consolidation, CityFibre already gobbled Connexin, which operates in a smaller part of the same Hull area, although Netomnia and nexfibre are also looking at options for M&A, among others.