Virgin Media O2 owners to build wholesale UK fibre network

LONDON: The owners of Britain’s Virgin Media O2 have joined forces with French investment firm InfraVia Capital Partners to plough around 4.5 billion pounds ($5.5 billion) into a new fibre broadband joint venture, increasing direct competition with BT.

Virgin’s owners Liberty Global and Spain’s Telefonica, plus InfraVia, said the network would cover around 7 million premises across the UK, in areas not already covered by the existing Virgin Media network, and offer wholesale access to other broadband providers.

BT has long provided the main wholesale network in Britain, giving access to the likes of TalkTalk and Sky. BT is ploughing billions of pounds into its network, extending its fibre offering to 25 million premises by end-2026.