Research Round-up May 2026
- Veronica Regnault
- 1 day ago
- 6 min read
Key publication of the month:
The reported interest in KCOM raises a question that applies well beyond a single deal: in a market where fibre has been built and rebuilt several times over, what is an incumbent footprint actually worth?
Our infrastructure data lets us answer that at postcode granularity.
The chart below maps the six local authorities where KCOM and Quickline both operate, placing each by its overbuild index — the average number of FTTP networks per premises — against the number of operators competing for those homes. Bubble size is the premises count; colour marks the leading network.
It's a clear distinction. Only Hull sits in the low-contest corner, and even there the days of a clean monopoly are gone: 2.31× overbuild and eight operators already press on pricing.
Everywhere else, both KCOM and Quickline find themselves in territory built two and three times over — competing less with each other than with BT, Sky and a thick field of altnets. Footprint, in other words, is not the same as defensible market position.
Distinguishing the two is what our Broadband Graph is built to do — combining infrastructure mapping, competitive intensity and take-up modelling to show not just where networks reach, but where they can still earn.
For operators, investors and policymakers weighing the next wave of consolidation, that distinction is increasingly the whole story.
Other publications from the month:
Key May telecoms sector news
BT Group News
6 May – BT International and STACKIT partner to expand reach and resilience of European sovereign cloud access.
8 May – Openreach announced WLR007/26 WLR Solus to MPF or SOTAP migration offer and WLR to SOGEA migration offer extension.
Migrations from WLR Solus to MPF or SOTAP
Migrations will be free for these journeys. CPs will be charged prevailing rates on connection and then be rebated the full amount retrospectively.
To be eligible for this Special Offer, orders must be:
Migrations from existing WLR Solus services to MPF or SOTAP
Placed between 08 June 2026 to 31 October 2026 inclusive and complete within 30 days at the end of the offer.
Note: this offer does not apply to SOTAP Analogue.
For full pricing, terms and conditions of the offer please see ACCN OR1103.
14 May – BT pens deal to provide secure connectivity for BAE Systems.
15 May – Openreach stops copper for another 1.69 million premises in bid to push customers to new digital lines.
18 May – BT Business collaborates with Accenture to supercharge AI deployment.
20 May – BT arms small businesses with industrial-grade security to address the UK’s cyber resilience gap.
20 May – BT announced the return of BT Mobile and noted its clear purpose: to provide reliable, seamless value in mobile connectivity that works alongside BT broadband.
21 May – BT Group published its results for the full year to 31 March 2026. Key highlights included: Record FTTP build of 4.8m premises passed in the year, achieving the accelerated target set last year, the fastest build in Europe; FTTP footprint at 23m premises; Openreach FTTP saw 2.2m net adds in the year; Openreach broadband line losses were 203k in Q4, giving full year losses of 825k; Retail FTTP base grew by 31% year-on-year to 4.5m, of which Consumer 4.2m and Business 0.3m; 5G base reached 14.5m, up 10% year-on-year; and Consumer customer base growth up 26k in broadband, 104k in postpaid mobile and 72k in TV, with stable to falling churn.
21 May – Openreach, Crimestoppers and EMR join forces to combat metal theft.
27 May – Openreach announced LLU002/26 LLU and Access Locate Power Price Update. It regularly reviews the costs and prices for electricity to ensure it only passes through our average annual costs in its prices.
As a result, this briefing is to notify CPs of a decrease in the price of power usage per kWh from £0.2580 to £0.2456 for all comingling products utilised for LLU, Access Locate and Access Locate Plus, from 1 July 2026.
Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) News
1 May – Virgin Media O2 published its Q1 2026 results. Its gigabit broadband network increased its UK coverage by just 6,400 premises in the quarter (down from 115.1k in Q4), while related consumer customers fell to a total of 5.44 (down by -5.6k in Q1 2026).
6 May – O2 has switched on its next-generation 5G+ network across nine large towns and cities, 18 smaller towns, and 133 villages in Wales as part of its UK-wide rollout.
12 May – Virgin Media O2 unveils new ESG strategy, the Responsible Business Plan.
The new strategy follows the full lifecycle of its business – from how it operates its network, to the products and services it sells, and extending the life of technology.
14 May – Virgin Media O2 has collaborated with the Institute of Customer Service on a structured training programme designed to upskill agents so they can better handle the most complex customer interactions.
22 May – Virgin Media O2 opens new experiential store at Westfield White City.
CityFibre (CF) News
26 May – CityFibre and Building Digital UK (BDUK) confirmed that CityFibre’s participation in the Government’s Project Gigabit programme has been re-scoped in response to the accelerated rollout of commercially funded full fibre across Project Gigabit areas. CityFibre has already successfully delivered full fibre connectivity to nearly 150,000 rural and harder‑to‑reach premises, including over 70,000 subsidised premises.
The re-scoped rollout, agreed with BDUK, will see CityFibre continue to deliver hundreds of thousands of premises across its nine awarded Project Gigabit contracts. In total, CityFibre expects to connect a total of 450,000 rural and harder-to-reach premises by 2030, including 226,000 subsidised through Project Gigabit.
Independent Operators (Altnets) News
1 May – ISPReview reported that Zen Internet, stated that it has seen a 52% increase in monthly gross demand through The Fibre Hub over the past 12 months.
8 May – Pulse Fibre is the latest smaller Altnet to fight for survival as it published "Notice of Intention to appoint an administrator“.
11 May – AllPoints Fibre Network agrees to sell its retail ISP Cuckoo UK customer base to Onestream to shift its focus on its pure wholesale fibre platform Aquila. Onestream notes that the acquisition will bring its customer base up to around 150,000 subscribers.
12 May – ISPReview reported that Fibrus and Ogi are linked to talks over possible UK broadband consolidation.
14 May – Zzoomm announced the launch of Zzoomm TV – a next-generation TV and entertainment service powered by Netgem’s PLEIO platform.
21 May – Community Fibre published its full-year 2025 accounts and also noted that it plans additional investment to expand its network footprint to grow its network beyond two million homes and businesses, significantly extending its ability to serve London’s homes and businesses with high-performance full-fibre broadband. We expect this to be substantially completed by 2028-2029.
22 May – nexfibre announced the next 7 full fibre build locations.
22 May – nexfibre has been recognised as one of the UK’s Best Places to Work for the third consecutive year, by The Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2026.
Other News
1 May – Scientists at the University of East Anglia have uncovered a hidden property of light that allows it to twist, spin and behave differently - without mirrors, materials or special lenses.
In a breakthrough that could transform medical testing, data transmission and future quantum technologies, researchers from the UK and South Africa have shown that light can be “programmed” simply by exploiting its natural geometry.
5 May – Vodafone Group reached an agreement for the buyout of CK Hutchison Group Telecom Holding Limited (“CKHGT”) from the VodafoneThree joint venture for £4.3 billion (€4.9 billion). The buyout is expected to officially complete in the second half of 2026, pending standard UK National Security and Investment Act approvals.
11 May – Ofcom published the Q4 2025 figures for complaints it received about the UK’s major landline, broadband, mobile and pay-TV providers.
11 May – BDUK announced the digital future of Essex will be supercharged with 9,500 more homes and businesses getting upgraded as part of the government’s Project Gigabit rollout.
13 May – Ofcom published its Connected Nations - Planned Network Deployments 2026 report. Full fibre could be available to 28.1 million UK homes (92% of all residential properties) by the end of 2028. If all planned deployments are realised, the number of homes with access to full fibre will increase from 24.9 million (82%) as of January 2026 to 28.1 million by January 2029. During the same period, gigabit-capable coverage could increase to 29 million homes (95%), up from 27.1 million (89%). It also published its Connected Nations 2025 report (CN2025), which was based on data from July 2025.
26 May – BDUK published its May 2026: Premises contracted and built under Project Gigabit contracts update.
29 May – Ofcom announced that a million people have flocked to Map Your Mobile, a free mobile checker, to help avoid dropped calls, sluggish data and patchy signal.
Please get in touch if you would like to find out more about UK datasets, the Broadband Graph or particular publications.
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