Research Round-up January 2026
- Veronica Speiser
- 9 hours ago
- 5 min read
Key Point Topic Query Agent Analysis:
Following recent news on the financial difficulties faced by Gigaclear, we are looking at its network value, competitive position and potential buyers.
Gigaclear's network spans 41K postcodes covering 644K premises, following its rural and suburban focused FTTP deployment strategy. It has a 23% take-up rate (~150,000 subscribers). This take-up rate is competitive for an FTTP altnet in rural markets, though below the 30%+ rates seen by some established players. The company ranks 7th among major altnets and demonstrates strategic value as an acquisition target.
Core Network Metrics
Metric Category | Description | Value |
Footprint | Total Premises Passed | 643,622 |
Subscribers | Subscribers (Q3 2025) | ~150,000 |
| Take-Up Rate | 23.31% |
Market Position | Rank by Premises Passed | 7th of 10 major altnets |
The business site proportion (10% of total premises) is typical for rural-suburban mixed deployments.
Competitive Overbuild Position
Overbuild Category | Premises | % of Footprint |
Gigaclear only | 374,794 | 58.20% |
1 competitor | 67,770 | 10.50% |
2 competitors | 10,777 | 1.70% |
3+ competitors | 190,281 | 29.60% |
Gigaclear maintains a monopoly position in 58% of its footprint (375k premises), suggesting targeting of underserved rural areas. However, 30% faces intense competition (3+ FTTP operators) in urban fringe areas.
The Openreach FTTP overlap of 204,982 premises (31.8%) indicates Gigaclear's network increasingly intersects with Openreach's rural expansion under Project Gigabit. So, about one-third of its network faces true fibre-to-fibre competition, suggesting a deliberate strategy to target underserved areas where Openreach has not yet upgraded to FTTP.
At the same time, 520K premises (80.8%) overlap with Openreach’s FTTC, which suggests Gigaclear’s potentially strong competitive position among households seeking more reliable and higher speed broadband connections.
Gigaclear Valuation Summary
Valuation Method | Low | High |
Subscriber Value (150k × £2,000-3,000) | £300M | £450M |
Infrastructure Value (500k unsubscribed premises) | £30M | £90M |
Total Range | £330M | £540M |
Based on its take-up rate and footprint size, Gigaclear’s potential valuation is £300-500M. Other factors may come into play of course, for example, high debt and high build costs. Its estimated annual revenue is £75-120M (150k subs × £500-800 ARPU).
Acquisition Potential
1. CityFibre - best strategic fit
Why it makes sense:
Complementary footprint: Only 0.3% network overlap (12,264 premises) would mean a highly efficient acquisition.
Combined footprint would reach 4.8M premises.
Geographic expansion: 40,028 new postcodes.
2. Trooli - best consolidation potential
Why it makes sense:
Similar markets: Both are focused on South West/rural deployments.
Low overlap: Only 4% (25,655 premises).
Combined footprint: 1.08M premises would reach critical mass.
Regional dominance: The combined entity would dominate the South West rural fibre market.
Operational synergies: same rural deployment expertise, combined field operations in overlapping geographies, shared rural marketing strategies.
3. Netomnia – best scale advantage
Why it makes sense:
Minimal overlap: Only 0.6% (3,632 premises, including brsk) – the two networks are highly complementary. The acquisition would add nearly 100% incremental premises.
Combined footprint would reach 3.5M premises (11% of the UK total).
Netomnia is backed by DigitalBridge and other significant investors: Deep pockets to fund acquisition.
Geographic expansion: Netomnia would get instant South East/East of England presence.
Complementary scale: Netomnia/brsk: 2.9M premises - major urban/suburban altnet; Gigaclear: 640K premises - established rural specialist.
Conclusion
Gigaclear represents an attractive acquisition target for scale-focused altnets seeking rural market access. The company's good take-up rate (23%), low competitive overlap, and concentrated geographic footprint make it potentially attractive for strateghttps://www.point-topic.com/post/q3-2025-uk-isp-and-network-supplier-metrics-a-market-overviewic buyers.
CityFibre emerges as the optimal potential buyer due to good strategic fit (urban + rural), minimal overlap (94% efficiency), and ability to finance the acquisition while generating significant operational synergies.
Read the complete article in our free analysis here.
Would you like to dive deeper into the potential way forward for Gigaclear or gain other valuable commercial insights to support your UK telecoms strategy? Would you like to get actionable insights in minutes, not weeks?
We conducted most of the above analysis by using Point Topic’s UPC Query Agent that has access to our postcode level UK broadband data. You can try it free of charge.
Other publications of the month:
G.Network's investor-led acquisition: key M&A Opportunity? For who?
Truespeed and Freedom Fibre merger talks – why it’s a complementary fit.
Ontology by the Back Door: How Ofcom, ARCEP and the Digital Networks Act Are Quietly Redefining Regulation
Q3 2025 Broadband Subscriber Trends: Fibre Dominates as 5G FWA and Satellite Gain Momentum
Key January telecoms sector news
BT Group News
6 January – BT completes the sale of its BT Federal unit to 22nd Century Technologies.
15 January – BT to deliver mobile connectivity for easyJet network, connecting crew, aircrafts and airports across Europe.
22 January – Openreach has announced a further 132 new exchange locations, covering a whopping 1.23 million premises across the UK, where the business plans to halt the sale of traditional copper-based phone and broadband services to encourage people to upgrade to new digital services over an ultrafast Full Fibre connection.
27 January – From not-spot to hotspot: EE delivers UK first for the people of Penmachno.
Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) News
8 January – O2 brings faster, more reliable 5G to Sheffield and surrounding areas.
8 January – Virgin Media O2 notifies some 300 UK staff of potential redundancies.
15 January – O2 brings faster, more reliable 5G to Gloucester.
20 January – Virgin Media O2 rings in 2026 by donating 12,000 phones to keep people in need connected.
26 January – Virgin Media gigabit broadband now available to 5,000 more homes in Strathaven for first time.
CityFibre (CF) News
20 January – CityFibre supercharges business broadband, now available across nationwide footprint.
22 January – CityFibre delivers record performance in 2025. Q4 saw an average of more than 50,000 new customers installed each month, a 112% increase year-on-year. CityFibre has now exceeded 20% penetration across its consumer footprint and is on track to exceed 30% by the end of 2026. In recent months, around 70% of households who were switching broadband provider were moved onto the CityFibre network where available.
Independent Operators (Altnets) News
16 January – ITS Technology grows UK full fibre network as turnover hits £34m.
20 January – Six alternative UK broadband networks ranked in Sunday Times 100 Tech List.
28 January – Netomnia published its Annual Results 2025. It reached 445k subscribers with 3m premises passed.
29 January – Community Fibre announced a record year of annual revenue growth, up 48% to £113 million.
Following the news welcomed by investors and shareholders today, Community Fibre also reported an adjustment in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to £49.8 million, up 530% from 2024.
Other News
10 January – R100 gigabit broadband rollout reaches 96,347 premises in Scotland.
15 January – BDUK publish several studies of UK mobile coverage and performance.
21 January – Ofcom sets out current progress and future plans to UK Prime Minister.
29 January – Concerns over UK funding shortfall for gigabit broadband raised in Parliament.
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