Altnets launch sharing venture to unlock GBP £100m fibre market

The UK alternative broadband network sector has established a new infrastructure sharing venture aimed at increasing market opportunities in the mobile and data centre sectors and improving returns on network investments.

This initiative, backed by 20 alternative network providers under the Independent Networks Cooperative Association (INCA), is designed to make better use of approximately 500,000 kilometres of spare fibre capacity available across the country. The framework provides a route for independent asset owners to commercialise their existing ducts, poles, and dark fibre and opens these assets up for use by mobile operators, data centres, tier one carriers, and hyperscalers.

In recent years, independent network providers have grown their presence in the UK broadband market, with three-quarters of a million customers switching to these services last year. With much of the full fibre infrastructure now built, the sector's focus has shifted to generating revenue from these assets and reducing duplication of physical infrastructure.

The venture aims to complement Openreach's Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA) framework, addressing areas where sharing existing infrastructure has previously not been possible, resulting in the installation of new poles and ducts. The shared infrastructure approach is intended to assist in minimising such duplication and its associated community concerns.

Framework details

Development of the infrastructure sharing platform has spanned the last 18 months, culminating in a standardised framework. This includes unified product definitions, terms and conditions, and supporting legal and commercial documents to facilitate asset sharing among those in the sector and with other communications and data centre operators.

Guy Miller, Chief Executive of Altnet MS3 Networks and Chair of INCA's Infrastructure Sharing Group, explained the goals of the initiative:

"We're ready to share our infrastructure and maximise the assets we own for the benefit of our sector as well as the mobile industry and data centres who will now have access to the assets we've invested in to deliver gigabit capable broadband across the UK.

"Pivotal to making this happen has been the establishment of an Infrastructure Sharing Framework that has put in place a common standard product definition, set of terms and conditions, and commercial and legal documents to support this new marketplace.

"Not only will this venture enable asset owners to get the best ROI from their infrastructure, it also has the potential to significantly reduce the disruption that comes about from the duplication of telegraph poles and ducts. It has been estimated that there is currently some half a million kilometres of spare fibre capacity that has not previously been easily identified. This will save Altnets money, accelerate fibre deployment across the UK and potentially reduce further need for completely new ducts and poles. It will also provide asset seekers with a cost-efficient infrastructure solution compared to investing in such assets themselves."

Miller also emphasised the market potential brought by the framework, including opportunities to enter the mobile industry's backhaul market, estimated to be worth GBP £100 million:

"It also opens up a significant new market opportunity for Altnets, including a slice of the GBP £100m backhaul market in the mobile industry. Asset owners can decide who they wish to share their infrastructure with and the commercial terms. They also have full control over access to their networks and chambers.

"We acknowledge the public and government concerns sometimes about construction of new physical infrastructure, and we hope this framework will reduce the need for that, where Openreach PIA is not available."

Registration and access

Both asset owners and asset seekers can register with INCA at no cost in order to access the new venture's resources, which include framework standards and the necessary documentation to facilitate third-party use of existing assets. As part of a new partnership with AssetHub, registered users will also be able to view geospatial maps identifying the location of network assets offered for sharing.

The sharing venture is seen by INCA members as a step towards optimising utilisation of existing digital infrastructure, delivering cost and time efficiencies for both providers and those seeking new network capacity.