CityFibre

CityFibre is an independent British network provider, providing gigabit-capable FTTP broadband across the UK. It is the third-largest network provider in the UK, after Openreach and Virgin Media.[3][4][5] It is sometimes referred to as an "altnet" (alternative network provider), in reference to being an alternative option to Openreach.[6][7][8]

CityFibre Holdings Limited
TypePrivate
IndustryInternet & Communications
Founded2011
HeadquartersLondon, England, UK
Key people
  • Greg Mesch (CEO)
  • Jonny Henry (Chief Safety Officer)
  • Simon Holden (COO)
  • Nick Dunn (CFO)
  • David Tomalin (CTO)
ProductsFibre-based Internet Services
Revenue
  • Decrease £31 million (2022)
[1]
  • Decrease -£210  million (2023)
[1]
Total assets
[1]
Owners
Number of employees
1,373 (2020)[1]
Websitecityfibre.com

The company has rapidly expanded across the UK, with a focus of expanding high-speed internet access in "second-cities", locations that were otherwise neglected by competitors. Prior to CityFibre's investment, for example, the average internet speed in Milton Keynes was 26.6Mbps, 17.4Mbps lower than the national average.[9][10]

CityFibre is based in London, and is co-owned by Antin Infrastructure Partners, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Mubadala Investment Company and Interogo Holding.[11][12][8][13] The company is listed on London's Alternative Investment Market.[14]

Over 35 internet service providers use CityFibre for their network, including Air Broadband, Andrews & Arnold, BrawBand, BrillBand, Facto, FibreHop, Gigabit Networks, Giganet, IDNet, Link Broadband, No One, Octaplus, RunFibre, TalkTalk, Toob, Vodafone, Yayzi, YouFibre, Zen Internet, and Zybre.[15][16][17][3]

History

CityFibre was founded in 2011.[5][13] becoming a publicly traded company in 2014.[18]

In 2014, CityFibre entered into a partnership with EE and Three to provide backhaul connections to mobile data masts.[19]

In March 2023, it was reported that City Fibre and Virgin Media were discussing a potential acquisition.[8]

Fibre rollout

In 2015, CityFibre purchased regional telecoms group Kcom, tripling the size of its high speed fibre network.[20] The following year, CityFibre generated profit for the first time. At the time, its network covered "20% of the UK".[14]

From the early 2020s, CityFibre has been rapidly expanding its access across the UK, with plans to cover one-third of the country with gigabit internet by 2025.[21][11][6][3][5] In 2022, the company completed successful trials of 2Gbps residential services in York, with further plans to increase speeds up-to 10Gbps using XGS-PON technology.[22][23]

In November 2022, CityFibre entered into partnership with the internet service provider Toob.[17] In December, CityFibre filed a Competition Act complaint to the Competition and Markets Authority and Ofcom alleging that its competitor, Openreach, had attempted to suppress opposition.[24]

In 2023, CityFibre was awarded £69m in funding from the British governments Project Gigabit initiative, to help in expanding gigabit internet access in rural properties across Cambridgeshire.[25] They also secured funding for expansions into Hampshire, Suffolk, and Norfolk.[26][27] In January, CityFibre reported that they were building at the rate of 22,000 premises per week, across 75 metropolitan areas, with a 83% increase in their network footprint in 2022.[3]

In May, it was announced that TalkTalk would be using CityFibre networks for its business customers.[28] In June, ISP Yayzi became the first ISP on the CityFibre network to offer up-to 2.5Gpbs to consumers, thanks to the usage of XGS-PON technology. Vodafone had previously offered 2Gbps, however this was on a limited basis for trialling purposes.[29] This offering was expanded in July, when CityFibre announced it was making a 2.5Gbps broadband tier available to all of their retail ISPs.[30][31]

References
  1. "CityFibre-2020-Annual-Report" (PDF). CityFibre. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 January 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  2. "About Us". CityFibre. Archived from the original on 2022-08-06. Retrieved 2022-08-06.
  3. Jackson, Mark (2023-04-14). "Summary of ISP Choices on CityFibre's UK FTTP Broadband Network". ISPreview UK. Archived from the original on 2023-06-21. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  4. "Grain expands fibre network as CityFibre hits gigabit roll-out accelerator". ComputerWeekly.com. Archived from the original on 2023-02-07. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  5. "Virgin Media O2 eyes up CityFibre takeover bid - DCD". Archived from the original on 2023-05-29. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  6. "UK altnets advance pace of full-fibre deployment". ComputerWeekly.com. Archived from the original on 2023-05-29. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  7. Gross, Anna (2022-03-20). "'Altnets' take on incumbents in fight for UK fibre broadband customers". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 2023-03-23. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  8. Warrington, James (2023-03-18). "Virgin Media O2 in talks over £3bn bid for Cityfibre". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 2023-04-06. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  9. Smith, Alan; Fildes, Nic; Blood, David; Harlow, Max; Nevitt, Caroline; Rininsland, Ændrew (July 18, 2018). "Broadband speed map reveals Britain's new digital divide". ig.ft.com. Archived from the original on 2023-01-31. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  10. Fildes, Nic (2018-01-18). "Broadband's 'forgotten city' rewired in ultrafast battle". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 2020-11-12. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  11. "CityFibre | Cambridge Network". Archived from the original on 2021-10-22. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  12. Fildes, Nic (2020-06-10). "CityFibre to create 11,000 jobs in full-fibre network push". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 2021-07-29. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  13. "New owners of CityFibre will need deep pockets in competitive broadband sector". Sky News. Archived from the original on 2023-03-24. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  14. Megaw, Nicholas (2016-04-18). "CityFibre delivers first profit ahead of schedule". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 2019-09-25. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  15. "CityFibre looks to power next phase of growth with brand update". ComputerWeekly.com. Archived from the original on 2023-03-25. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  16. "CityFibre lights up Luton with gigabit broadband". ComputerWeekly.com. Archived from the original on 2023-03-21. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  17. "CityFibre inks strategic relationship with Toob". ComputerWeekly.com. Archived from the original on 2023-04-12. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  18. Ruthven, Hunter (2014-01-20). "AIM admission for CityFibre as company raises £16.5 million". Growth Business. Archived from the original on 2023-07-02. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  19. "CityFibre connects to mobile masts in challenge to BT". www.ft.com. Archived from the original on 2022-01-21. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  20. Thomas, Daniel (2015-12-14). "CityFibre to challenge BT after network purchase". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 2019-09-25. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  21. "CityFibre to bring full fibre internet to 8 million premises by 2025". www.ctp.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2023-07-02. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  22. "CityFibre and Vodafone complete first UK 2Gbps residential trial". ComputerWeekly.com. Archived from the original on 2023-04-03. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  23. Jackson, Mark (2022-07-25). "CityFibre Upgrade UK Network to 10Gbps Full Fibre Broadband UPDATE". ISPreview UK. Archived from the original on 2022-07-25. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  24. "CityFibre extends reach across southern England as it files Openreach competition complaint". ComputerWeekly.com. Archived from the original on 2023-03-21. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  25. "CityFibre lands latest Project Gigabit contract". ComputerWeekly.com. Archived from the original on 2023-05-29. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  26. Jackson, Mark (2023-07-01). "CityFibre Win Three Major UK Project Gigabit Broadband Rollout Contracts". ISPreview UK. Archived from the original on 2023-07-01. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  27. "CityFibre says latest Project Gigabit contracts will enable extra 500,000 premises passed by FTTP". www.thinkbroadband.com. Archived from the original on 2023-07-01. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  28. "TalkTalk to use CityFibre for business customers - Telecoms.com".
  29. Jackson, Mark (2023-06-27). "First CityFibre UK ISP Launches Cheap 2.5Gbps Broadband Plan UPDATE". ISPreview UK. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
  30. Jackson, Mark (2023-07-12). "CityFibre Officially Launch 2.5Gbps FTTP Home Broadband Tier". ISPreview UK. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
  31. "CityFibre claims UK's fastest wholesale consumer broadband services | Computer Weekly". ComputerWeekly.com. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
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