Last year, the telecoms giant revealed revenues climbed up to £170 million, representing a 25% year-on-year increase, while adjusted EBITDA surged 460% to £29 million, driven by accelerating adoption across the network.

According to the telecoms giant, it has achieved over 20% penetration in its consumer footprint, with more than 70% of households switching broadband providers opting for the CityFibre network where available.

As a result, the company is “on track” to exceed 30% penetration by the end of this year.

Alongside this, the CityFibre revealed strategic priorities for the brand, which included expanding its wholesale-only network to eight million UK premises, driving take-up across all market vertices and delivery market-leading products and services across the UK’s most advanced fill fibre.

Simon Holden, CEO of CityFibre, said: “CityFibre’s wholesale business model has always set us apart and, as our network fills up with customers, we have the momentum to bring about a long-term, competitive alternative to BT Openreach and deliver significant benefits for the UK.”

But why is the UK fibre market attracting so much attention from companies right now?

James Robinson, senior analyst at Assembly Research, points to a “confluence of factors, including macroeconomic, financial and commercial ones.” 

This comes as rising demand for high-speed broadband, regulatory support for network competition and the need to achieve scale are all driving consolidation and investment across the industry.

This consolidation is already visible across the UK fibre market, with the types of companies involved in this activity varying.

CityFibre itself has been active, it acquired Lit Fibre, adding up to 300,000 premises to its portfolio, as part of its drive toward an eight‑million‑premises network. 

It also acquired Connexin’s fibre network, extending coverage in Hull, the East Riding and beyond while taking on its Project Gigabit contract. 

Alongside this, earlier deals include CityFibre’s purchase of FibreNation from TalkTalk in 2020.

Robinson added: “Everything we’ve seen so far has been fairly small-scale, involving players operating at the wholesale level only or as vertically integrated outfits.”

So far, the market hasn’t shown major regulatory resistance to consolidation.

Robinson continued: “The majority of transactions would not be expected to pose risks for competition or consumers,” and there are no significant M&A hurdles currently in play unless a major company like Openreach enters the acquisitions market.

He also revealed, operators are also competing on both price and service, claiming some of the strategies companies use to compete effectively in the UK market include “can hinge on price and customer service, or both. Certain altnets have materially discounted retail prices, allegedly to try to prop up short-term penetration.”

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