As a network builder working on the frontlines of full-fibre broadband deployment, I’ve watched the UK market evolve from a mad dash for duct and pole access into a more mature, strategic game. Fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) coverage now stands at 77.3% nationwide, a figure that would have been unthinkable just five years ago. But as that number rises, the reality sets in: the final 20% will be the hardest, and many operators are starting to feel the strain.
The Build Carries On — For Some
CityFibre continues to charge ahead, now passing over 4.3 million premises, with a target of 8 million by 2030. With Sky poised to begin migrating customers to their infrastructure from mid-2025, it’s clear the alt-net sector is finally earning mainstream trust.
At the same time, nexfibre has significantly scaled back its ambitions. Its initial target of reaching 5 million premises by 2025 has now been halved to 2.5 million, with new build activity paused across many regions. This coincides with the suspension of the NetCo spin-out plans by its retail partner Virgin Media O2, a move that would have separated the infrastructure business from its consumer arm. Instead, they are reverting to a single-brand, vertically integrated model, despite persistent criticism around poor customer satisfaction scores, including a bottom-tier ranking in a recent Which? survey. These developments highlight the operational and reputational challenges of competing in an increasingly saturated full-fibre market where rising build costs, patchy demand, and overlapping coverage areas are making commercial viability harder to sustain.
The deeper we go into rural and hard-to-reach terrain, the less commercially viable each metre of fibre becomes. It’s no longer just about money, it’s about resilience, logistics, and local knowledge.
Smaller, Smarter Builders Are Holding Their Ground
In this tougher climate, regional operators like Wessex Internet are thriving by focusing on depth over breadth. They’ve made solid inroads in rural Dorset, Somerset, and Wiltshire, the kinds of places most larger builders are now hesitating to enter. While their network is cross country-side and farmland, using multiple versions. It isn’t likely to be purchased quickly, like CityFibre & Lit.
Fibre Aggregators: The New Gatekeepers
Equally important is the rise of fibre aggregators like Zen Internet and AllPoints Fibre, who are becoming crucial middlemen between network owners and end users. These players are offering nationwide reach without nationwide build cost, serving as multi-network access layers for ISPs and businesses.
Zen’s brand strength and multi-network strategy let it reach customers wherever fibre is available, even if it’s not their own infrastructure. AllPoints Fibre, meanwhile, is building a future-facing open-access platform that allows other ISPs to scale over a shared network backbone — a compelling proposition as consolidation accelerates.
For smaller builders, these aggregators are a lifeline to market, and for customers, they’re the path to flexibility and choice.
What’s Next: Maturity, Mergers, and Margin Discipline
The UK’s fibre rollout is entering its next phase, less frantic, more strategic. With most urban areas already covered or in progress, attention is turning to the economically marginal, geographically complex final third of the market. This is where real operational experience, streamlined internal delivery, and carefully chosen partnerships will matter most.
At WestNetworks, we’ve built our business to meet this challenge head-on: full in-house capability, smart wireless backhaul for off-grid solutions, and a focus on quality over scale. We’re not chasing numbers, we’re chasing resilience, efficiency, and value that lasts.
The FTTP market isn’t just maturing. It’s toughening up. And that’s when real network operators prove their worth.
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