UK’s Nexfibre opens net with Virgin Media O2 as anchor client

UK consumers and businesses can now connect to the network of Nexfibre, the fibre JV between InfraVia Capital Partners and Virgin Media O2 owners Liberty Global and Telefónica.

Users can connect to the fibre network via Virgin Media O2 as anchor wholesale tenant.

Nexfibre says it is on target to deliver full fibre connectivity to five million UK homes and businesses by the end of 2026.

Nexfibre is is financed with £4.5 billion of equity and debt investment.

The company’s network uses XGS-PON archtitecture and will enable Virgin Media O2 to extend its fibre footprint to up to 23 million homes by 2028, around 80% of the UK.

The pair say that the combination of Nexfibre and Virgin Media’s fibre footprint will create the first national scale challenger to BT Openreach.

XGS-PON can enable symmetrical upstream and downstream spped up to 10Gbps.

““nexfibre’s advanced full-fibre network is now live and will deliver hyper-fast broadband to millions of homes and businesses across the country,” said Bernardo Quinn, CEO at nexfibre.

“We are investing £4.5 billion to roll out our new network which will boost the UK’s digital economy by creating thousands of jobs and getting millions more homes and businesses online. We are on a mission to build and operate our network in previously underserved areas, closing the digital divide and giving more people access to high-quality broadband.”