Industry players say the review provides the regulatory certainty needed as the country enters a more mature phase of full-fibre deployment, where consolidation and scale are expected to play an increasingly important role.

Rajiv Datta, CEO at nexfibre, said the regulator’s decision to maintain oversight of the market – particularly the position of incumbent network operators – is critical to sustaining competition.

“The reality is that sustainable, nationwide competition to Openreach will only be achieved through consolidation and continued investment,” Datta said.

“Ofcom is right to stay the course and prioritise regulatory stability. This is not the moment to deregulate the incumbent; what’s needed is steady oversight and firm enforcement of the framework already in place.”

Datta added that the UK fibre market remains highly fragmented, suggesting that consolidation among alternative network providers (altnets) will be necessary to build operators capable of competing with the country’s largest infrastructure provider.

Earlier this year, nexfibre moved to expand its scale through the acquisition of Netomnia, a deal the company says will strengthen its ability to challenge Openreach and accelerate nationwide fibre rollout.

According to Datta, the move reflects a wider shift underway across the UK’s fibre sector as operators seek the scale required to deliver sustainable competition.

“The fibre market remains too fragmented to deliver this on its own,” he said. “Now is the moment for clear action. The UK must show it is committed to supporting the investment needed to secure the long-term digital infrastructure that will drive productivity, innovation and economic growth.”

The sentiment was echoed by CityFibre, another major alternative network provider that has been expanding its full-fibre footprint across towns and cities nationwide.

A CityFibre spokesperson said the regulator’s review reinforces its long-term strategy of encouraging infrastructure competition while maintaining safeguards against anti-competitive pricing.

“Ofcom is doubling down on its long-term strategy to promote sustainable infrastructure competition, continuing to strengthen the much-needed constraints on anti-competitive pricing from Openreach and recognising the importance of strong rival fibre networks to challenge the incumbents,” the spokesperson said.

The company added that the review provides a stable regulatory foundation as it continues to scale its network and compete in the wholesale broadband market.

“The Telecoms Access Review provides CityFibre with a stable regulatory framework as we scale our network and bring the benefits of genuine infrastructure competition, lower prices, faster speeds and better services – to consumers and businesses nationwide.”

The latest review from Ofcom sets out the regulatory conditions governing wholesale telecoms markets between 2026 and 2031. The framework determines how infrastructure owners must provide access to their networks and aims to balance investment incentives with the need to maintain competition.

Over the past decade, the UK has seen a surge in full-fibre deployment driven by a growing number of altnets entering the market alongside established players. However, as networks expand and funding conditions tighten, industry observers increasingly expect mergers and partnerships to reshape the competitive landscape.

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