FullFibre and Digital Infrastructure consolidate to form a leading alternative network in the UK fibre market

FullFibre and Digital Infrastructure consolidate to form a leading alternative network in the UK fibre market.

Basalt Infrastructure Partners LLP (Basalt) announces Basalt Infrastructure Partners Fund III (a fund advised by Basalt) is bringing FullFibre and Digital Infrastructure together in a move that will create a single wholesale platform and a bigger, more ambitious entity in the UK fibre market.

Basalt today announces the merger of its two UK fibre to the premises network operators, Digital Infrastructure and FullFibre.

The merger happens as a pro-active move in the competitive UK fibre market, bringing greater scale and combining routes to market for these established fibre assets.

The combined business, to be led by CEO Oliver Helm, will integrate Digital Infrastructure’s and FullFibre’s existing footprint and continue the build out in more rural regions. It will create a highly complementary network and take advantage of FullFibre’s wholesale-first strategy.

The merger will also create one of the larger offerings by UK altnets, with a network accessible by over 250,000 homes and businesses Ready for Service (RFS) today, with an ambition to deliver 1 million live premises through a wholesale business model.

The internet service provider (ISP) of Digital Infrastructure, BeFibre, which today provides retail services via both the FullFibre and Digital Infrastructure networks, will remain part of the group as a customer of the enhanced wholesale platform.

Headline Numbers:

– Over 250,000 RFS premises available today, with over 300,000 to be available by the end of the year.
– A combined build rate of up to 40,000 new RFS per month.
– 67 towns actively in build or nearing completion.

Commenting on the merger, Wil Jones, Partner at Basalt, said, “The UK fibre sector is maturing and, through this merger, we will create a business with substantial scale, under a single wholesale platform. This will ensure long-term success and strengthen our position in the market to accelerate the plans of both businesses”.

“This consolidation places us well to take advantage of opportunities in the UK fibre market and continue our investment in network rollout across the UK, enhancing the platform’s ability to deliver increasingly essential fibre infrastructure in historically under-served areas.”

Oliver Helm, CEO at FullFibre, also comments, “Both Digital Infrastructure and FullFibre have built exceptionally skilled teams, with complementary capabilities. Together, we will accelerate the pace at which we roll out and connect customers to our fibre network. The merged organisation will sit in the top tier of well-established, alternative networks. With this substantive scale, we will continue our single-minded focus on delivering exceptional network infrastructure to our ISPs, and their customers and communities in turn”.