Digital infrastructure provider CityFibre has completed its acquisition of FibreNation from TalkTalk Group, having gained shareholders’ approval.
This acquisition will enable CityFibre to increase its full-fibre rollout plan from 5 million to up to 8 million premises, supported by an investment programme of up to £4 billion. TalkTalk has also become CityFibre’s latest customer.
The FibreNation brand will remain in the market and the company will continue to operate and expand its networks.
Coronavirus spread
CityFibre’s roll-out is set to cover 100 towns and cities and is estimated to create up to 7,000 construction jobs outside London. To date, 62 towns and cities have been identified.
Greg Mesch, Chief Executive at CityFibre, said, “In the face of the rapid spread of the coronavirus and its unprecedented impact on the UK’s society and economy, we believe that the need for world-class digital infrastructure has never been greater.
“Completing our acquisition of FibreNation marks an acceleration in our ability to deploy the critical future-proof digital infrastructure our country needs. By significantly expanding our rollout ambition to up to 8 million premises, CityFibre is helping to answer the call for a full-fibre Britain.”
Competition and investment
TalkTalk will now begin a systems integration process, as well as planning for the launch of its full-fibre services.
Reliable connectivity
Tristia Harrison, Chief Executive of TalkTalk, commented, “Now more than ever, reliable and affordable connectivity should be available to every single home in Britain, and this agreement shows that a full-fibre future can be delivered through competition and investment by many players. CityFibre’s ambitions to take forward our hard work with FibreNation over the last five years, should take us a step closer to that fully connected Britain.”
“The sale of FibreNation to CityFibre, in combination with a competitive wholesale agreement, enables us to continue our strategy to accelerate TalkTalk’s fibre growth for our residential and business customers, thereby delivering a superior customer experience at an affordable price,” she added.
FibreNation was founded in 2018, four years after a joint venture between TalkTalk, Sky and CityFibre was launched to deploy full-fibre infrastructure and services across the City of York.