UK Infra – Page 4
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Venturing & InvestmentsInfracapital: UK FibreCo fundraisers must graft to overcome global ‘bad rep’, new gov showing ‘green shoots’
INCA event provides platform for investors and altnets including Octopus and Netomnia to review early weeks of Labour government, with broad optimism on show despite still rocky funding environment. The capital exists, but what will Downing Street do to bring it to the UK? Read more…
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Financial & PerformanceOpenreach hits halfway mark in UK fibre mega-project
15 million premises now sit within the Openreach FTTP footprint, on track for 30 million by 2030, but a productivity boost is needed if it is to hit its 2026 interim target…
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Venturing & InvestmentsGov-backed UK Infrastructure Bank provides funding to another rural FibreCo
Cornish Wildanet attracts £35m investment from UKIB, days after the bank ploughed £150m into Hyperoptic.
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M&AG.Network: London FibreCo being prepped for trade sale?
Sky News reported anonymous sources claiming the sizeable London fibre provider has hired bankers after being approached by potential buyers. Investors USS and Cube recently rejigging. Potential compatible buyers identified…
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Venturing & InvestmentsHyperoptic crosses £1bn funding milestone with fresh UK investment
Altnet focused on plugging connectivity gaps in urban areas says £150m in UK Infrastructure Bank money will particularly benefit social housing residents.
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Network & InfrastructureVodafone hands VM O2 a spectrum bonus to win merger support
Following more than a year of talks, Vodafone wins Virgin Media O2 round to its proposed Three merger with an extended network sharing agreement and approval-dependent spectrum transaction. Questions remain about MBNL future, BT response, and CMA viewpoint…
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Network & InfrastructureVirgin Media O2 scrapes past Shared Rural Network waymark… hard work begins now
VM O2 manages to reach interim 4G rural coverage target on deadline day. BT already ahead, Vodafone UK on track, but Three UK yet to confirm progress, with potential penalties from Ofcom looming. Read more…
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Public Affairsnexfibre joins calls to tighten Openreach infra choker, ensure lasting UK fibre competition
UK fibre wholesaler calls for new and improved regulation to provide platform for altnet competition as attention turns to Ofcom’s next five-year framework. Echoes broad consensus among INCA members that more could be done to limit Openreach dominance, encourage altnet investment…
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M&AUK fibre M&A ‘easy’ (compared to challenges of compatibility, integration, compliance)
Challenger leaders at INCA gathering call out lack of industry standards as key obstacle to more M&A. Integration and migration are costly and complex, making compatibility a consideration for prospective buyers. Compliance also increasingly important in valuations. More positive is XGS-PON embrace, deemed a “damn fine standard for a starting place”, but beware legacy tech. Learn more…
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M&AAltnets Netomnia-Brsk merging into UK FibreCo unicorn tier
This weekend sees confirmation of top-ten FibreCos combining into top-five integrated challenger with uprated three million footprint target, wholesale differentiation, prep’d for further M&A. Read more, including our updated market overview…
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M&ALiberty mulls M&A opportunities for Virgin Media O2’s NetCo
Liberty Global CEO Mike Fries still “looking actively” at possible altnet acquisitions, noting potential for VM O2’s planned FibreCo spin-off to serve as a vehicle for consolidation in the UK’s fibre market.
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M&AUK fibre altnet Voneus gets £18m funding boost
Existing investors plough another £18m into Voneus after the recently expanded group is said to be on a roll with increased build rate and sales.
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Network & InfrastructureVodafone links 2Africa subsea cable to UK hub
Vodafone onshores another section of 2Africa submarine cable, this time in Cornwall.
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Network & InfrastructureProject Gigabit finally reaches Scotland with first rural fibre tender
UK government fibre build scheme opens procurement process for North East Scotland network, geared towards reaching 68,000 premises. Northern Ireland and Wales contracts in the pipeline, as are larger ‘call-off’ bundled lots that have piqued the interest of larger players…
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Network & InfrastructureBritish parliamentarians depart with last swing at ‘unconvincing’ 5G plans
The outgoing Public Accounts Committee’s final report on mobile connectivity portrays government efforts to improve mobile coverage as lacking focus, data, and clear evidence of value.
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Strategy & ChangeYorkshire challenger Connexin tag-teaming Calix to unlock SME as ‘experience provider’
’Value-add tops megabits’: ambitious regional fibre challenger and key partner open up on winning ways at Connected North. SME segment presented as golden opportunity to strike against incumbents through solutions tailored using network and service data insights. And much more…
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Consumer (B2C)BT delays Digital Voice switchover, revamps all-IP rollout plan
BT needs more time to complete the switch to digital landlines but hopes Digital Voice customer conversions will go hand-in-hand with full-fibre upgrades.
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Financial & PerformanceOpenreach to invade Project Gigabit, snap up altnet misfires
FY23–24: Closing in on infill Project Gigabit contracts, also eyeing altnet misfires. Line loss the new reality despite strong fibre build and take-up momentum. TelcoTitans BTwatch predicts altnets will step up, not roll over. New CEO Kirkby makes clear Openreach not for sale (yet). Read more…
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Financial & PerformanceUK’s Digital 9 reshapes boardroom, weighs Arqiva options as wind-down progresses
Former Bank of Scotland exec Eric Sanderson named Chair to lead wind-down process, with one or more other Non-Execs to be added in near future. Steps made in asset sale but future of Arqiva stake not yet decided.
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InterviewBrace for ‘AI tidal wave’: Kao Data urges UK data centre step change
Next-gen specialist discusses Manchester Data Centre of the North investment sweetspot, need to prep for AI-fuelled tsunami of demand (nowhere in Europe ready). Read more…