CityFibre, nexfibre gain further gigabit ground in southern England

In another clear indication of the steady advance of gigabit broadband in the UK, in particular to areas hitherto untouched by ultrafast connectivity, over 12,000 homes and businesses in Chichester are now able to access CityFibre’s full-fibre network, while nexfibre has announced it will be delivering its network to more than 15,000 premises across High Wycombe and Marlow, providing access to Virgin Media O2’s (VMO2’s) services.

CityFibre, which claims to be the UK’s largest independent full-fibre network, said build-out in Chichester is fast approaching around 85% coverage of the city.

The Chichester roll-out also includes the areas of Fishbourne and Stockbridge, as well as other businesses and housing estates on the outskirts of the city. CityFibre will continue to explore opportunities to reach more sites including new build properties, multi-dwelling units, homes on private or unadopted roads, and business parks.

The provider adds that after having now completed most of its roll-out in the area with most premises having been designated “ready for service”, residents and businesses can now choose their best available digital connectivity options once live in their area. Indeed, in Chichester, customers can already connect to the new network and gain broadband services from a choice of 18 providers, including Vodafone, TalkTalk, Cuckoo (previously Giganet), IDNet and Zen.

For its part, nexfibre says its investment in High Wycombe and Marlow, working in partnership with its build partner and anchor tenant, VMO2, demonstrates the progress it’s making in deploying its next-generation full-fibre network to communities across the UK.

Once the build is complete, local people and businesses in High Wycombe and Marlow will be able to access full-fibre broadband with top speeds of 2Gbps. The network is powered by XGS-PON technology capable of symmetrical speeds of up to 10 Gbps.

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 challenger to 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.

VMO2 has an exclusive partnership with nexfibre, and aims to have a fibre footprint reaching 80% of the UK when coupled with its own fibre upgrade plans, which complete in 2028, with nexfibre providing a material baseline of penetration to build upon.

In April 2024, nexfibre announced it had a total of one million premises passed and ready for service, reaching a seven-digit number of premises in 14 months, claiming to make it the fastest fibre build programme of any UK network. 

Commenting on the latest roll-out, nexfibre CEO Rajiv Datta said: “We are committed to delivering high-quality full-fibre connectivity to communities and business across the UK, including here in High Wycombe and Marlow. By boosting access to broadband, we are enabling access to the tools needed to participate and thrive in a modern, digital society and stoking growth in the local economy.”