Global broadband subscriber growth in Q4 2023 slowest since 2019; Annual INCA / Point Topic Altnet Sector Report; UK telecoms sector news; Project Gigabit, government and Ofcom updates
Key publication of the month:
Altnets full fibre networks covered 35% of the UK, as well as 32% of Area 3 premises at the end of 2023, connections increased by 33% year-on-year to reach 2 million, and investment and expenditure within the sector is expected to reach £25 billion by 2028.
Produced in partnership with Independent Networks Co-operative Association (INCA), the 'Metrics for the UK Independent Network Sector' report, sets out a series of key figures which illustrate the continuing growth and successes of the sector, alongside some of the central concerns occupying the minds of Altnet leaders over the last year.
The report covers the state of play with respect to premises passed, customers connected, the current state of investment into the Altnet sector and the expectations and aspirations of Altnet operators.
Key points
At the end of 2023, 2 million customers across the country were connected to Altnet fibre.
The collective Altnet footprint (premises passed) reached 12.9 million premises, or 35% of all UK premises.
The expectation is that this figure will reach 16.7 million by the end of 2024, with 3 million live connections anticipated.
Altnets have deployed their fibre past 3 million Area 3 premises, approximately 32% – or nearly one-third – of all Area 3 premises.
Our analysis shows that Altnet fibre will pass around 4.5 million premises – 46% of Area 3 – by the end of 2025. In comparison, Openreach fibre passed 3.7 million Area 3 premises (39%). Again, this highlights the ambition and capability of the highly resilient Altnet operators.
In terms of investment, new capital continued to flow into the sector over 2023 despite adverse conditions, with an estimated £7 billion committed over the year.
Read the complete article and access the full report here.
Project Gigabit progress update – April 2024
On 10 April, Building Digital UK (BDUK) published its quarterly update on the £5bn Project Gigabit programme. Fifteen multi-million pound contracts have been signed since the start of the year, covering more than 370,000 homes and businesses across the country.
A total of 31 contracts have been signed, valued at over £1.3bn and in February, BDUK confirmed 1m homes, businesses and public buildings are now able to tap into gigabit-capable networks because of UK Government investment.
The figure below provides gigabit-capable annual growth by region and devolved nation since August 2021. The full progress update publication can be found here.
Key April telecoms sector news
BT Group News
Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) News
CityFibre (CF) News
Independent Operators (AltNets) News
Other News
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