UK altnets passed 19.7 million premises by end-2025 (+20% year on year) with approximately 3.5 million live connections and 18% take-up, while consolidation deals accelerated through 2025 and 2026. This FBRE tracker maps public-summary coverage, consolidation status, and links to all 30 FBRE altnet profiles under CC-BY-4.0 as of 3 June 2026.
Research dataset · Updated 3 June 2026
UK Altnet Coverage & Consolidation Tracker 2026
Market-level altnet coverage from the INCA/Point Topic public summary, a consolidation deal table, per-altnet rows linked to FBRE's 30 profiles, and downloadable CSV.
19.7m
Premises passed
18%
Take-up (market)
CC-BY-4.0
CSV download
What changed: Initial publication with INCA 2026 public-summary headline figures, consolidation table, and 30-altnet profile cross-links, 3 June 2026.
Key facts
- 19.7 million UK altnet premises passed by end-2025 (+20% YoY) (Independent Networks Cooperative Association & Point Topic. (2026). State of the Altnets 2026 [public summary].).
- approximately 3.5 million live altnet connections; 18% take-up (same source).
- 4.4 million premises in Ofcom Area 3 (hardest-to-reach) served by altnets (public summary).
- more than £3 billion external funding raised by UK altnets in 2025 (public summary).
What does UK altnet coverage look like at end-2025?
| Premises passed | 19.7 million (+20% year on year) |
|---|---|
| Live connections | approximately 3.5 million |
| Take-up | 18% |
| Area 3 premises | 4.4 million |
| External funding (2025) | more than £3 billion |
| Source | Independent Networks Cooperative Association & Point Topic. (2026). State of the Altnets 2026 [public summary]. |
Which altnets does FBRE track?
Per-operator premises figures use operator-published or FBRE-profile data only. Granular Point Topic per-operator tables are paywalled and are not reproduced here.
| Altnet | Premises passed | Connections / take-up | Regions | Mid-contract rise? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airband Community Internet | Data pending | Data pending | Rural West Midlands, South West, Welsh borders | Verify contract | INCA member; BDUK/Project Gigabit supplier |
| AllPoints Fibre Networks | Combined acquired footprint | Varies by region | Multi-region UK (consolidation platform) | Wholesale platform | Roll-up platform; retail via partners |
| B4RN | Data pending (community model) | High local take-up | Rural Lancashire, North Yorkshire, Cumbria | Verify contract | Community benefit society |
| Boldyn Networks | Infrastructure (not retail passed count) | B2B / neutral host | Nationwide infrastructure | N/A (infrastructure) | Former BAI Communications |
| Brsk | Data pending | Data pending | West Midlands, Lancashire, South East | Verify contract | Retail brands subject to nexfibre deal (2026) |
| CityFibre | Public operator disclosures (wholesale) | Via retail ISP partners | Nationwide wholesale; 80+ towns/cities | Set by retail ISP | Wholesale-only; Connexin acquired Mar 2025 |
| Community Fibre | Operator-published (London focus) | Operator-published | Greater London | Selected plans: none marketed | See FBRE profile |
| Connect Fibre | Data pending | Data pending | East Midlands | Verify contract | See FBRE profile |
| F and W Networks | Data pending | Data pending | Scotland | Verify contract | See FBRE profile |
| FullFibre (Zzoomm) | Data pending | Data pending | South West, Midlands | Verify contract | FullFibre acquired Zzoomm Mar 2025; retail unified under Zzoomm brand |
| G.Network | Pre-administration operator data; verify current | Verify current | Greater London | Verify contract | Administration Jan 2026; asset sale to FitzWalter |
| Gigaclear | Data pending | Data pending | Rural England | Verify contract | Rural altnet |
| Glide | MDU-focused (not standard passed count) | MDU occupancy-based | Student accommodation / MDU | Verify contract | MDU specialist |
| Hyperoptic | Operator-published | Operator-published | Major UK cities (MDU focus) | Verify contract | MDU/full-fibre urban |
| ITS Technology Group | Data pending | Data pending | North West, Yorkshire | Verify contract | See FBRE profile |
| Jurassic Fibre | Data pending | Data pending | South West (Devon, Somerset) | Verify contract | See FBRE profile |
| Lightning Fibre | Data pending | Data pending | South East | Verify contract | See FBRE profile |
| Lightspeed | Data pending | Data pending | East Midlands, East of England | Verify contract | See FBRE profile |
| Lit Fibre | Data pending | Data pending | East Midlands | Verify contract | See FBRE profile |
| MS3 | Data pending | Data pending | Hull and East Yorkshire | Verify contract | KCOM market adjacent |
| Netomnia | Operator-published; subject to nexfibre deal | Via YouFibre/brsk retail | North East, Yorkshire, North West | Set by retail brand | Substantial Group; nexfibre deal announced Feb 2026 |
| Octaplus | Data pending | Data pending | South East | Verify contract | See FBRE profile |
| Quickline | Data pending | Data pending | Rural Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Hull | Verify contract | FWA and fibre |
| Swish Fibre | Data pending | Data pending | South East | Verify contract | Acquired People's Fibre base |
| Toob | Data pending | Data pending | Southampton, Portsmouth, South East | Verify contract | See FBRE profile |
| Trooli | Data pending | Data pending | Kent, South East | Verify contract | See FBRE profile |
| Truespeed | Data pending | Data pending | South West (Bath, Bristol, Somerset) | Verify contract | Freedom Fibre acquisition announced Feb 2026 |
| Voneus | Data pending | Data pending | Rural UK (multiple counties) | Verify contract | Rural wireless and fibre |
| Wessex Internet | Data pending | Data pending | Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire | Verify contract | See FBRE profile |
| Zzoomm | Pre-acquisition operator data | Verify under FullFibre | Henley-on-Thames and surrounds | Verify contract | Acquired by FullFibre Mar 2025 |
Which consolidation deals are reshaping the market?
| Acquirer | Target | Value | Announced | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| nexfibre (Liberty Global / Telefónica / InfraVia) | Substantial Group (Netomnia, YouFibre, brsk) | approximately £2 billion enterprise value; YouFibre/brsk retail to VMO2 for £150 million | 18 February 2026 | Announced; completion expected Q3 2026; subject to CMA clearance | nexfibre / Liberty Global press releases (2026) |
| CityFibre | Connexin | Undisclosed | March 2025 | Completed | CityFibre press release (2025) |
| FullFibre | Zzoomm | Undisclosed | March 2025 | Completed | FullFibre / Zzoomm announcements (2025) |
| Freedom Fibre | Truespeed | Undisclosed | February 2026 | Announced | Freedom Fibre announcement (2026) |
| G.Network (via administration sale) | FitzWalter (network assets) | Undisclosed | January 2026 | Administration sale completed | Administrator / G.Network statements (2026) |
How is this tracker compiled?
Market headline figures come from the INCA/Point Topic State of the Altnets 2026 public summary (data end-2025, published March 2026). Per-altnet rows link to FBRE's 30 altnet profiles, which use operator disclosures, INCA membership, Ofcom Connected Nations, and Companies House where available. Consolidation rows are updated on each announced transaction. We do not state paywalled Point Topic per-operator figures. See methodology and the consumer guide What happens if my altnet goes bust?.
How should I cite this dataset?
You may reuse under CC-BY-4.0.
SearchSwitchSave Group. (2026). UK Altnet Coverage & Consolidation Tracker 2026. FBRE.uk Research. Data current to End 2025 (INCA/Point Topic State of the Altnets 2026 public summary). https://fbre.uk/research/altnet-coverage-consolidation-tracker