Just days after it officially switched on its network, full-fibre network provider nexfibre has received a £250 million debt investment from the UK Infrastructure Bank, boosting its £4.5 billion project to roll out its gigabit broadband network to 5 million homes and businesses across UK by 2026.
nexfibre is a joint venture created by InfraVia Capital Partners, Liberty Global and Telefónica and the partnership has committed £1.4 billion in equity to the project. The deal also includes more than £3 billion in debt raised from further private investors, with the Bank’s involvement helping to underpin what is the second largest debt raise seen in the UK digital market to date.
The new £250 million debt investment is part of what UK Infrastructure Bank says is its commitment to investing in infrastructure that tackles climate change and boosts regional and local growth. The Bank is a cornerstone lender in the project, which is backed by total investment of £4.5 billion in its initial phase.
The combination of nexfibre and Virgin Media O2’s network footprints is designed to see the creation of the UK’s first national-scale challenger to BT Openreach, boosting choice and competition in the market. nexfibre will initially roll out fibre to 5 million homes not currently served by Virgin Media O2’s network by 2026, with the opportunity to expand to an additional 2 million homes.
At present nexfibre offers commercial services for Liberty and Telefónica-owned Virgin Media O2 offering XGS-PON capability. At present, the VMO2 infrastructure supports download speeds of 1.1Gbps but XGS-PON and fibre connections will provide customers with symmetrical upload and download speeds of up to 10Gbps, supporting future new technologies and applications.
UK Infrastructure Bank’s loan is targeted towards locations which have to date had poorer digital connectivity or historically lower productivity. The investment is expected to help boost growth in these areas and reduce existing inequalities in accessing vital digital services.
The new £250 million debt investment is part of what UK Infrastructure Bank says is its commitment to investing in infrastructure that tackles climate change and boosts regional and local growth. The Bank is a cornerstone lender in the project, which is backed by total investment of £4.5 billion in its initial phase.
The combination of nexfibre and Virgin Media O2’s network footprints is designed to see the creation of the UK’s first national-scale challenger to BT Openreach, boosting choice and competition in the market. nexfibre will initially roll out fibre to 5 million homes not currently served by Virgin Media O2’s network by 2026, with the opportunity to expand to an additional 2 million homes.
At present nexfibre offers commercial services for Liberty and Telefónica-owned Virgin Media O2 offering XGS-PON capability. At present, the VMO2 infrastructure supports download speeds of 1.1Gbps but XGS-PON and fibre connections will provide customers with symmetrical upload and download speeds of up to 10Gbps, supporting future new technologies and applications.
UK Infrastructure Bank’s loan is targeted towards locations which have to date had poorer digital connectivity or historically lower productivity. The investment is expected to help boost growth in these areas and reduce existing inequalities in accessing vital digital services.
