October 25, 2025
In a strategic move to expand their market reach, a consortium of the United Kingdom's alternative broadband networks, known as "AltNets," has announced the formation of a new infrastructure-sharing venture. The initiative, unveiled this week, is designed to leverage their combined assets to compete more effectively for business from mobile operators and data center companies.
The collaborative venture aims to create a unified and extensive network of physical infrastructure, including ducting and poles, which can be used to deploy fiber optic cables. By pooling their resources, the AltNets seek to offer a more compelling and efficient proposition to large-scale clients, particularly mobile network operators (MNOs) seeking to densify their 4G and 5G networks with high-capacity backhaul links.
Furthermore, the alliance is setting its sights on the rapidly growing data center market. As data centers require immense bandwidth and resilient connectivity, the new venture will position itself as a key provider of the critical fiber links connecting data centers to each other and to the wider internet.
This consolidation effort reflects a maturation of the UK's AltNet sector, which has seen significant growth in recent years as a competitive challenge to the market dominance of incumbent providers like BT's Openreach. Industry analysts suggest that such cooperation allows the smaller, agile operators to present a national-scale infrastructure footprint without the costs associated with building duplicate networks, thereby increasing their viability and long-term sustainability.
The formation of this venture is expected to intensify competition in the UK's telecommunications infrastructure landscape, potentially leading to accelerated fiber rollout and more diverse service options for mobile and enterprise customers.
SOURCE DCD
