Two million UK customers are now using fibre services from an altnet, representing 33% year-on-year growth in connections.
Fri, 26/04/2024 - 12:45
Following a report from INCA and Point Topic that altnets have now passed more premises in aggregate than Openreach, Neos CEO Lee Myall states that consolidation is the next natural step.
He said: “Buoyed by private investment and government initiatives such as Project Gigabit, more than 100 altnets have helped to build gigabit-capable networks across the UK. INCA’s report that altnets, together, have now surpassed the number of premises passed by BT’s Openreach fibre networks is unsurprising within this context.”
INCA and Point Topic report puts the aggregate altnet footprint at 12.9m premises, overtaking Openreach at 12.8m homes.
“But the report also highlights the need to increase take-up,” continues Myall. “The ‘build it and they will come’ approach won’t necessarily work long-term and to truly compete with legacy ISPs, altnets must be able to deliver the same national reach and unified approach as their competitors.
“As a result, over the next few years, we are likely to see more convergence and collaboration across the altnet landscape as they look to expand their capabilities and interconnect their networks.”
