VMO2, MS3, Brsk report gigabit gains

In the latest deployment by provider Nexfibre, 20,000 more homes in Milton Keynes can access Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) gigabit broadband services for the first time, after work to bring full-fibre connections to the area was completed.

Customers in Milton Keynes can now sign up to services including Gig2 broadband, which offers top speeds of 2Gbps, said to be 26 times faster than the local average.

The fruits of a £4.5bn investment from VMO2 shareholders Liberty Global and Telefónica, alongside investment firm InfraVia Capital Partners, Nexfibre was launched to create the UK’s first national-scale wholesale network provider to challenge BT Openreach, boosting choice and competition in the market. The key stated objective for Nexfibre is to roll out fibre initially to five million homes not currently served by the VMO2 network by 2026, with the opportunity to expand to an additional two million homes.

Nexfibre recently announced it had reached a total of one million premises passed and ready for service, and just weeks ago, it announced it would be delivering its network to more than 15,000 premises across High Wycombe and Marlow, in the same geographic region as Milton Keynes.

Nexfibre CEO Rajiv Datta said: “[Our] multimillion-pound investment in Milton Keynes will enable thousands of households to access the benefits of full-fibre broadband, including being able to participate in the local economy and connect with the community. It marks a significant step on our journey to connect five million premises by 2026.”

Just up the M1, independent provider Brsk, which recently announced a merger with Netomnia to form the second-largest UK alternative network, is celebrating a new milestone in the West Midlands, investing £25m and now providing over 100,000 homes with access to full-fibre broadband. The deployment stretches across the Black Country and South Birmingham, and Brsk recently added an additional 30,000 premises in the areas of Blackheath and Bearwood in the Metropolitan borough of Sandwell. Further additional areas are to be announced soon.

Brsk said the deployment represents a huge milestone not only for the company, but also for the West Midlands, an area where it said gigabit connectivity has largely been lacking until recent years. “With technology playing such an important part in today’s society, I’m incredibly proud to be a part of upgrading the broadband, to the area that I call home, to the fastest internet available in the UK,” said Brsk regional head Laura Richardson. “Full-fibre technology not only future-proofs us, it enables Birmingham and the Black Country to continue as technology hubs for the UK.”

Gary Blunt, Broadband Lead at WM5G, an organisation part of the wider government Urban Connected Communities Project, added: “Commercial investment like this is key to making the West Midlands the best-connected place to live and work. At WM5G, we believe working in partnership and supporting suppliers to build these networks helps ensure that all our homes and businesses can access fast and reliable digital connectivity that they deserve. We look forward to seeing further investment and the ongoing network expansion across the West Midlands Combined Authorities.”

Tracking north East from the West Midlands, full-fibre network operator MS3 Networks has partnered with Lincolnshire Housing Partnership (LHP) with the aim of bringing greater choice and affordability of internet provider to the housing provider’s tenants. Over 450 residents living in LHP’s low and medium-rise apartment blocks in Grimsby and Cleethorpes will now be able to connect to MS3’s ultrafast network.

Explaining its move, the provider cited research showing social housing tenants make up a third of the UK’s digitally excluded people, making it challenging for residents to access education and job opportunities. However, MS3 said efforts to ensure residents have good internet connectivity have typically been slow, as telecoms providers face difficulties when determining how to run cabling through a multi-storey building without causing excessive disruption. LHP aims to overcome this issue by granting a master wayleave agreement to MS3, allowing the operator to install its network in the housing provider’s low and mid-rise apartment blocks across Grimsby and Cleethorpes.

“In North East Lincolnshire, around one in eight households live in socially rented housing, so our partnership with LHP allows us to improve socialisation, education and job opportunities for residents,” said Jo Fleming, corporate partnerships manager at MS3.

“But digital inclusion goes further than simply providing access to the infrastructure needed to get online – it’s about affordability. Due to our network of wholesale partners, residents will be able to choose a broadband option that suits their usage and budget needs, with an average annual saving of £200.”

The expansion with LHP will take the total number of Lincolnshire homes and businesses that can access MS3’s full-fibre broadband to over 60,000, including a completed Scunthorpe build covering 37,000 premises.