British pure fibre provider CityFibre has announced the completion of its acquisition of FibreNation from TalkTalk, following shareholder approval. In a press release confirming the development, CityFibre said the purchase continues its long-term strategy of investing in ‘critical national infrastructure’, adding that the takeover will enable it to boost its rollout ambitions. According to the fibre provider, an expanded rollout plan will now see it reach up to eight million premises, compared to a target of five million previously, across more than 100 towns and cities. To date the operator says it has identified 62 towns and cities to benefit from its rollout while also noting that it has already connected ‘thousands of public sector sites including hospitals, GPs, schools and community venues’.
Meanwhile, CityFibre said the deal completion also triggers TalkTalk’s onboarding as its latest major customer, making long-term commitments of both residential and business customers. TalkTalk Group will now begin a process of systems integration across existing pure fibre systems and for future network rollout.
CityFibre has also confirmed that the FibreNation brand will remain in market and the company will continue to operate and expand its networks, which currently cover around 60,000 premises. FibreNation is reported to have network construction projects underway in Harrogate and Dewsbury and has most recently announced Bolton as the next town where it will deploy its full fibre infrastructure.
Commenting on the conclusion of the deal, CityFibre CEO Greg Mesch said: ‘Completing our acquisition of FibreNation marks an acceleration in our ability to deploy the critical future-proof digital infrastructure our country needs. By significantly expanding our rollout ambition to up to eight million premises, CityFibre is helping to answer the call for a full fibre Britain.’ Tristia Harrison, chief executive of TalkTalk, added: ‘The sale of FibreNation to CityFibre, in combination with a competitive wholesale agreement, enables us to continue our strategy to accelerate TalkTalk’s fibre growth for our residential and business customers, thereby delivering a superior customer experience at an affordable price.’