Alternative UK Full Fibre Networks Call on Prime Minister to Focus on Broadband

The Independent Networks Co-operative Association (INCA), which represents many of the UK market’s alternative broadband networks, has this afternoon become the latest industry organisation to press the new UK Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, and his leadership team to “give broadband and telecoms the political attention and clear ministerial ownership they deserve“.

According to INCA’s data, altnets now account for more than 3.6 million live broadband connections in the United Kingdom (they’ve collectively built to 19.7 million UK premises, including 4.4m in rural areas), while more than 850,000 customers switched to an independent provider during 2025 alone (here). The latter figure is roughly equivalent to how many broadband lines Openreach lost over the same period.

However, INCA also appears concerned about the new PM’s recent decision to absolish their dedicated Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), which instead saw its responsibilities for broadband, mobile and telecoms in general being placed back inside the re-named DCMS – now known as the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (here).

Paddy Paddison, Chief Executive of INCA, said:

“While changes in the machinery of government come and go, the question that really matters is whether anyone in government still oversees the whole picture.

Telecoms cannot be treated as one sectoral issue among many. It is the delivery mechanism for almost everything this government wants to achieve, from introducing AI across public services to strengthening the resilience of our health, energy and water systems.

Every home, business, school and GP surgery needs access to a fast, reliable and low-latency connection. The slower and less complete our national network is, the slower and less complete our economic progress will be.

The government must not assume that the broadband rollout is effectively complete or that one dominant operator will finish the job on its own.

The final part of the rollout will be the most difficult. It includes many of the rural and underserved communities that are already at greatest risk of being excluded from employment, education, healthcare and essential public services.

Britain only began building full-fibre broadband at scale because independent networks introduced genuine infrastructure competition. Altnets now pass almost 19.7 million premises and have played a fundamental role in accelerating investment, improving services and giving consumers greater choice.

A return to a market dominated by a single network would mean less competition, less innovation and, ultimately, worse outcomes for consumers and businesses.

As Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham described digital connectivity as a basic human right and set an ambition for the city-region to become fully digitally enabled. Our ask is that he now applies that same standard to the whole country.

Telecoms are the backbone of the modern economy. The new Prime Minister must not ignore this cornerstone industry and needs to establish clear political accountability and give the sector the attention it deserves.”

INCA is calling on the new government to appoint a minister with clear responsibility for broadband and telecoms and to keep gigabit delivery, digital inclusion, network resilience and competition connected within the government’s wider economic strategy. Past governments have done exactly this, although at present it’s unclear whether the new Prime Minister plans to continue that tradition.

The organisation is also urging ministers to complete Project Gigabit and “address practical barriers that continue to slow network deployment“, which they say includes issues with Openreach’s Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA) product, difficulties securing wayleaves (land access agreements) and better access to multi-dwelling units.

Ofcom has arguably already addressed PIA in their recent market review (they’re unlikely to change it dramatically again until 2031) and changes are on the way for MDUs (here and here), although wayleaves have never stopped being a tricky issue.