Fibre Provider's Weekly Update

Fibre Provider enables the spectrum of organisations driving the UK’s fibre rollout to keep up to date with the latest commercial, regulatory and planning news. As part of this mission, our weekly newsletter compiles the top news that broke during the week and brings it straight to your inbox.

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In this week's news...

Ogi secures ￡45m package from CCR

Ogi has secured a ￡45m financing package from Cardiff Capital Region (CCR), alongside ongoing investment from its principal shareholder Infracapital, to support the next stages in its growth.

The funding will see Ogi extend its reach in the ten local authority areas that make up CCR (Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Cardiff, Merthyr Tydfil, Monmouthshire, Newport, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Torfaen and the Vale of Glamorgan).

The altnet already has a footprint across the region which includes its multimillion-pound high-capacity network spanning the south Wales trunk road into England.

Ogi’s network currently reaches 100,000 premises in south Wales, with a penetration rate of 20%.

CEO Ben Allwright said: “With key strategic sites like Aberthaw to the south and the heads of the valleys to the north, there’s massive potential across the capital region.

“Partnering with CCR is the next logical step for Ogi’s growth in southeast Wales”

Freedom Fibre revenues swell by 114%

Increased customer connections saw Freedom Fibre ’s revenues increase by 114% to ￡623,185 for the year ended 30th November 2023.

The altnet also saw its gross profit increase by 458%. This took the company from losses of ￡20,672 to a profit of 73,949.

Due to the continuation of its network build, Freedom Fibre reported an increased 27% operating loss and a 50% increase in CAPEX.

During this period, Freedom Fibre completed the acquisition of VX Fibre to create a combined network of 300,000 premises passed.

Freedom Fibre also won a ￡24m government contract as part of Project Gigabit.

Fibre Forecast sessions - Autumn programme

Fibreprovider.net are pleased to announce details of our sponsored programme of ‘Fibre Forecasts’, providing fibreprovider.net readers with insights into the challenges, opportunities, strategies, and technologies shaping the UK fibre sector in 2025 and beyond.

These roundtable sessions bring together industry experts to discuss the key issues and innovations driving the UK fibre sector. The insights gained from these discussions form a crucial part of our editorial calendar, appearing on FibreProvider.net, our weekly newsletter, and across social media.

Participants sponsors will have the unique opportunity to showcase their thought leadership and industry expertise.

Fibre Forecast Programme for Autumn 2024

• Assessing Wholesale Model Benefits - Exploring how the wholesale landscape is evolving & how altnets can increase customer take-up by leveraging a balanced wholesale portfolio.
• Evolving Recruitment Priorities- How is the sector finding talent as altnets shift from build engines to sales and marketing organisations? Do skill shortages still plague the sector and how can they be navigated.
• Embedding Efficiency - What partnerships can be leveraged by altnets to build efficiency into their continued build or customer addition processes.

For details on how to participate contact Simon Turton or Heather Miles for details.

FullFibre expands wholesale offering with IPRiver partnership

FullFibre Limited has signed a strategic partnership with wholesale aggregator IPRiver to expand the connectivity options available to businesses across its full fibre network.

Matt Baker , Head of Wholesale at FullFibre, said: “Onboarding with IPRiver means that businesses in our network can now benefit from an even wider selection of B2B providers.”

The altnet’s network currently covers 170 towns and nine counties.

Jonathan Starr , Account Director at IPRiver, said, “By joining forces with FullFibre, we can now offer symmetrical FTTP services at speeds of 150 Mbps, 500 Mbps, and 1 Gbps across 380,000 premises in the UK.”

IPRiver has a network of over 150 channel partners.

Freedom Fibre has awarded thousands to community groups from north Shropshire through its community fund which supports good and green projects. The altnet has selected 23 groups and supported each with ￡500 worth of grants.

The Freedom Fund was first launched in October 2022 and has awarded tens of thousands in funding so far.

Neil McArthur , Freedom Fibre’s CEO, said: “non-profit groups that have received the funding are all working to positively impact their communities through education, sustainability efforts, and projects that bring local residents together.

“All these goals directly align with Freedom Fibre’s own company values, and we feel incredibly privileged to work alongside these community groups to help benefit the areas where Freedom Fibre is building our network.”

Pictured:?Freedom Fibre awarding a grant to Whittington Castle Preservation Trust in Whittington.

Lightning Fibre begins connecting Brighton customers

Lightning Fibre has made its network builds across Brighton and Hove, Worthing and Lancing ready for service and has connected its first customer in the region.

The altnet operates its own network in Eastbourne, Hastings, Hailsham, Heathfield, Tenterden, Broad Oak, Polegate and St Leonards and has recently partnered with CityFibre to operate as an ISP across its network in some areas on the south coast.

Rob Reaks , CCO, said: "Lightning Fibre has tens of thousands of customers in East Sussex and Kent, and we're now expanding westward, bringing our network to even more towns and cities.”

Thanks for reading, and we hope to see you back here next Friday for the latest news update. Be sure to subscribe at the top of this newsletter to get your copy.