Author: Joe Brewer

FullFibre, a wholesale full fibre network provider along with its in-house ISP retail company, BeFibre, and Zzoomm, an established and rapidly growing full fibre business operator, have agreed to merge.

The enlarged group will have one of the largest full fibre footprints with some 600,000 properties ready for service and over 65,000 customers, and will also be well positioned for further M&A.

The merged business will be able to accelerate growth, enhance operational efficiency and lead on further M&A across the fragmented Altnet sector.

Matthew Hare, CEO of Zzoomm, will become Executive Chairman and James Warner, CEO of FullFibre, will be Group CEO.

The management teams from both companies have proven track records. They have the relevant experience, expertise and resources to lead and develop the enlarged group faster, providing outstanding broadband services to consumers, businesses and wholesale markets.

The merged entity combines two complementary networks and operating models. This will create significant opportunities to accelerate customer growth across a larger footprint, secure funding for new builds and future mergers, and achieve greater operational and financial efficiencies through economies of scale.

Additionally, the partnership will enhance wholesale services for internet service providers (ISPs), unlocking valuable new revenue streams.

The merger is subject to final documentation execution and regulatory approval, expected early in 2025.

Matthew Hare, CEO of Zzoomm, commented: “With our clear focus on serving happy customers with brilliant broadband, Zzoomm has delivered for a number of years industry leading organic growth across its network.

“We have consistently stated our strategy is to grow organically and by M&A in this fragmented market.

“An enlarged business with the operational and financial infrastructure, benefitting from the economies of scale, as well as a management team with an exceptional track record, we will have an excellent platform to combine with other Altnets in the near future as well as driving organic growth faster.”

James Warner, CEO of FullFibre, commented: “This merger represents another significant step in our journey. With a shared commitment to delivering transformational full fibre connectivity with exceptional customer experience, this deal strengthens our collective ability to grow even faster and seize new market opportunities.

“For FullFibre, this is our second merger and another milestone in our mission to create a 21st-century digital backbone for the nation. Following our recent successful integration with Digital Infrastructure and BeFibre, this next merger further accelerates our ambitions to lead the market and provide unmatched connectivity to homes, businesses, and wholesale partners alike.”

FullFibre Announces Strategic Partnership with IPRiver, Expanding Wholesale B2B Connectivity Options

FullFibre, a leading provider of fibre-optic infrastructure, is thrilled to announce a strategic partnership with IPRiver, a renowned wholesale aggregator. This collaboration will significantly expand the connectivity options available to businesses across 170 towns and nine counties served by the FullFibre network.

Matt Baker, Head of Wholesale at FullFibre, expressed enthusiasm about the new partnership, stating, “Onboarding with IPRiver means that businesses in our network can now benefit from an even wider selection of B2B providers. This partnership underscores our commitment to offering unparalleled choice and flexibility to our customers.”

IPRiver, known for its robust network of over 150 channel partners, is equally excited about the partnership. Jonathan Starr, Account Director at IPRiver, commented, “This is fantastic news for us and our channel partners. By joining forces with FullFibre, we can now offer symmetrical FTTP services at speeds of 150 Mbps, 500 Mbps, and 1 Gbps across 380,000 premises in the UK. Whether a business is SOHO, SME, Enterprise, or needs to link multiple sites via MPLS, they can now easily access high-speed FTTP through one of our trusted partners.”

This partnership marks a significant milestone in FullFibre’s mission to provide comprehensive, high-speed fibre-optic solutions to businesses of all sizes, enhancing digital connectivity and supporting economic growth across the UK.

About FullFibre
FullFibre is a leading provider of fibre-optic infrastructure, dedicated to delivering high-speed internet access to businesses and communities across the UK. With a commitment to quality, reliability, and customer choice, FullFibre continues to expand its network to meet the growing demands of the digital age.

About IPRiver
IPRiver is a wholesale aggregator with a network of over 150 channel partners, offering a range of connectivity solutions to businesses across the UK. IPRiver is committed to providing high-quality, reliable services that meet the diverse needs of modern businesses, from small offices to large enterprises.

Media Contact:
Matt Baker
Head of Wholesale
matt.baker@fullfibre.co
07563 390929

FullFibre Ltd secures over £30 million in Project Gigabit contracts to bring lightning-fast broadband to rural West Herefordshire and Northern Derbyshire

Lightning-fast broadband will be delivered to thousands of homes and businesses in West Herefordshire, Forest of Dean and parts of the Peak District in rural Northern Derbyshire after two new contracts were awarded to wholesale network provider FullFibre Ltd, as part of the government’s Project Gigabit rollout.

Project Gigabit is the government’s £5 billion mission to upgrade digital connectivity in hard-to-reach areas. Under the two contracts, lightning-fast broadband infrastructure will be rolled out to over 12,000 rural homes and businesses across parts of the Peak District in Northern Derbyshire, West Herefordshire and the Forest of Dean.

These contracts enable the business to also reach a further 18,000 deep rural properties, which would under normal circumstances be considered too expensive, as part of the overall plans for the regions. The contracts will see FullFibre Ltd partner with the UK government in both areas, with initial surveying beginning on 1st April 2024.

The expansion of gigabit-capable infrastructure to 247 towns and villages across these localities will specifically target remote, rural, and other hard-to-reach premises which, were it not for government intervention, would be otherwise overlooked by the industry’s gigabit rollout.

Under the terms of the contracts, FullFibre Ltd will provide access to the latest broadband technology and fibre to the premises (FTTP), boosting the economy in previously underserved communities. This will empower them to effectively operate their businesses online or encourage remote work, as well as bring fast and reliable connections for day-to-day activities such as streaming and gaming.

Furthermore, by operating a wholesale business model across an open network, with partnerships with varying internet service providers (ISPs), customers will have increased freedom of choice when it comes to their provider, allowing for more competitive pricing and reducing the need for high-cost, long-term contracts.

James Warner, interim CEO at FullFibre, commented: “Building network in a rural setting has always been a part of FullFibre’s DNA. We now have the opportunity to push this even further by working in partnership with the government, to bring FullFibre’s connectivity to thousands of families and businesses across West Herefordshire and the Peak District in the most difficult to reach parts of these regions.

“Having a commercially built network closing in on 400,000 premises ready for service in and around these areas, these contracts represent a great opportunity to ensure no premises are left behind in our collective aim as an industry to fibre every home and business in the country.”

Digital Infrastructure Minister Julia Lopez said: “This latest cash injection from Project Gigabit will bring lightning-fast gigabit connections to hard-to-reach areas in parts of the Peak District, the Forest of Dean and Herefordshire.
“Our £5 billion investment isn’t just about streaming and gaming—it’s about empowering businesses of all sizes. By supercharging rural communities, we’re creating an attractive environment for investment and job creation.”

FullFibre has won the coveted Best Channel Support at this year’s ISPA Awards, recognising the outstanding support it provides to its ISP partners.

Held at the Old War Offices (OWO) in London, the ISPA Awards is an industry-focused event that is designed to recognise the best companies in the broadband, hosting, cloud and VoIP services industries.

The ‘Best Channel Support’ award celebrates the network builder who provides the most comprehensive and impactful channel support to ISPs using their FTTP infrastructure; from the initial onboarding process right the way through to the day-to-day support.

Matt Baker, Head of Wholesale at FullFibre, comments, “FullFibre’s approach is designed to deliver value for our partners, and to support customer service excellence, which is why we’re so delighted that this has been clearly recognised in this award win. We work hard to understand our partner’s propositions and growth objectives, and to support them in their go-to-market strategies through tactical campaign activity.

“We look forward to continuing to deliver this for all of our partners, on our new extensive footprint, in 2024”.

So far this year, FullFibre has also won awards for ‘Best Marketing Team’ at Channel Champions, ‘Best Fibre Marketing Campaign’ and were Highly Commended for ‘Best Wholesale Fibre Provider’ at the UK fibre Awards.

Fibre Heroes delivers more choice for consumers with Fibre Heroes’ lightening-fast broadband

In a first for 50 towns in England, residents and businesses can now access full fibre, or FTTP, with multiple providers, bringing better value gigabit-capable internet to the town.

From 7 November, over 100,000 residents and businesses in 50 towns will benefit from this increased choice and availability. They will have access to 12 different full fibre broadband providers on Fibre Heroes’ gigabit-capable service – bringing significantly more reliable broadband and better consumer choice.

The availability of full fibre infrastructure is often identified as key to delivering economic growth, as set out in the Government’s plan to extend local full fibre networks across the UK.

Brought to these 50 towns by the full fibre network provider known as Fibre Heroes, the service is different to BT’s network, which national service providers (like Sky) sell their services on. This new infrastructure is a Government-backed upgrade to the UK’s old copper network, and a lot of the current partial fibre network. Meaning it’s genuinely full fibre (all the way to the home) and not a partial upgrade as lots in the area will have today.

Managing Director of Fibre Heroes, James Warner, comments, “We’re really pleased to bring the residents and businesses of these 50 towns more choice in their broadband provider, stimulating competition and making available best-in-class internet services for the area. We know access to ultrafast connectivity has a real-world positive impact on how communities operate and the way we live our lives, so we’re proud to be able to deliver improved services for many people up and down the UK”.
Full fibre is a more reliable internet service and allows up to 1Gbps download speeds for those homes and businesses using its network. However, this newly available service may not be available through all broadband companies, so it’s important to check which ones can now offer the service.

To find out more about the services on offer, and whether your property of home is eligible for the upgrade, click here

Fresh Fibre joins the FullFibre network as its newest internet service provider, adding to a substantial year of growth for the company.

Fresh Fibre is a service provider offering 150, 500 and 900Mbps packages with a focus on expertise, cutting-edge technology and reliability for its customers. Sticking to the FullFibre principle of no mid-contract price hikes, Fresh Fibre also offers packages that are designed “to stretch what you can get out of us, not what we can get out of you”.

Commenting on the new partnership, Head of Wholesale at FullFibre, Matt Baker, said “We’re really excited to be partnering with Fresh Fibre, who deliver even more choice to customers looking to connect to the FullFibre network. A big part of our ethos at FullFibre is to level the digital landscape across the UK, and Fresh Fibre’s offering is helping us fulfil this ambition”.

Thomas Pearson, Technical Operations Manager at Fresh Fibre, also comments “Fresh Fibre is delighted to be working with FullFibre to bring Ultrafast Broadband to new communities across the UK. With our UK-based call centre and fair pricing models we are well placed to deliver a service and a customer experience that is best in class among challenger ISP’s”.

Earlier this month, FullFibre announced a merger with Digital Infrastructure (Di), which will create one of the larger offerings by UK altnets, with a live network accessible by over 270,000 homes and businesses, and an ambition to deliver 1 million live premises by the end of 2025.

FullFibre has onboarded a number of new partners over the past 12 months, including; Direct Save, FACTCO, Gigabit Networks, IDNet, Link Broadband, and OctaPlus. Increasing the number of partners selling on its network to 12.

FullFibre’s ISP partners now include BeFibre, FACTCO, Gigabit Networks, IDNet, Link Broadband, Merula, OctaPlus, Redline, Squirrel and Worcester I.T Services.

FullFibre is a wholesale telecoms network provider, operating under the customer-facing brand Fibre Heroes, to connect the historically overlooked towns of the UK with an ultrafast broadband connection.

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”.

FullFibre announced as Best Vendor Marketing Team at this year’s Channel Champions Awards.

Held at Regents Park in London, Channel Champions is an industry-focused awards event that is designed to recognise the full range of teams who contribute to building winning channel organisations.

The Vendor Marketing Team award recognises those businesses demonstrating a consistent record of achievement in developing and protecting their brand, generating leads, and creating a strong client and market profile.

FullFibre’s marketing approach is wholly unique. Using its Fibre Heroes marketing campaign, which creates a distinctive brand, its and highly effective marketing team generates original, engaging and community focused campaigns that make a real difference.

Zoe Taylor, Chief People Officer at FullFibre, comments on the win, “This is an excellent result and reflects the hard work that we do right across the business. As a wholesale only business, a strong marketing offering supports the whole company effort in delivering quality full fibre services for our ISPs to sell their services on”.

So far this year, FullFibre has also won awards for ‘Best Fibre Marketing Campaign’ and were Highly Commended for ‘Best Wholesale Fibre Provider’ at the UK fibre Awards.

FullFibre onboards new partner Direct Save and expands its offering to end-users with more competitive broadband and home phone packages.

Direct Save are a fully UK-based internet service provider. Their aim is to help everyone save money on their broadband and home phone packages, and they offer competitive deals to end-users with this in mind, supported by their award-winning customer support team.

Matt Holliman, Operations Manager at Direct Save, comments on the new partnership, “We’re excited to work with Fibre Heroes, a leading provider of high-speed fibre-optic broadband. This collaboration allows us to combine our expertise in affordable and customer-focused broadband and phone services with a state-of-the-art fibre network, and offer our customers a reliable and lightning-fast internet connection.

“Together, we are committed to bridging the digital divide and ensuring that everyone has access to the benefits of full fibre connectivity”.

Commenting on the new partnership, Head of Wholesale at FullFibre, Matt Baker, said “We’re really pleased that Direct Save are offering services on our network. This means we can offer even more choice to residents and businesses across the UK, which is crucial as we continue to build our network at pace”.

FullFibre is building full fibre networks in over 80 towns across 11 counties, fulfilling their goal of bringing ultrafast broadband to the currently underserved areas of the UK.

FullFibre launches a brand new Community Investment Fund to promote digital connectivity in its build towns.

The Community Investment Fund will be open to both local charities and organisations to request funding for projects that enhance the prosperity and growth of their hometown. The scope of the Fund is broad, and applicants are encouraged to use their imagination about the types of projects that could be funded.

This could be a significant investment tool for local communities, and to access funding, potential recipients can apply here, providing details of the activity, the scope to support local people and the location of their project.

The first project to be approved is the Badsey & Aldington Community Computer Club, which supports people in the Badsey and wider Evesham area to learn how to use the internet. The money raised from FullFibre’s Community Investment Fund will enable the club to buy new equipment and increase the support they can provide to the local community.

Councillor Alan Tutton comments, “It is brilliant to have access to a fund that is designed solely to support local communities, and we are so pleased to be the first project approved for funding. This grant will now enable us to reach out to more individuals around the Evesham area and support them in building up their skills and confidence when using the internet”.

Matt Smith, Head of Public Procurement and Engagement at FullFibre, comments, “Every project is individually assessed, and we will do our best to put the Community Investment Fund to good use: to make sure it benefits as many of the 80 plus towns that we are active in as we can”.

Oliver Helm, CEO at FullFibre also comments, “We are thrilled to announce the launch of our Community Investment Fund. This is a real force for good and a brilliant opportunity for us to get more involved with the communities we are working in.

“Investing in building digital capacity and better connectivity, whatever that looks like, is a very exciting place to start a project. I’m genuinely looking forward to receiving our first set of applications, and we can’t wait to get started”.

For further information on the criteria and available funding for the Fibre Heroes Community Investment Fund, please visit: https://fibreheroes.co.uk/community-investment-fund/.