UK lacks additional sources of FTTH network investment

The UK lacks a significant third source of investment in FTTH networks, according to James Enck, head of corporate development at CityFibre Holdings. He said that this has come from the utilities industry in Denmark, Norway, parts of the US and Germany; from municipal projects in Sweden; and from entrepreneurial investors looking to create disruptive infrastructure in markets such as Hong Kong and the Netherlands. He added that the UK has lacked representation from any of these sources of investment until recently. There have been a few municipal and regional projects, but nothing significant from the utilities industry and very little entrepreneurial capital. However, the last year has been an upsurge in activity, with companies such as Hyperoptic, Gigaclear, and CityFibre committing to new entrepreneurial investment in pure fibre infrastructure; and new approaches to community-driven models, such as B4RN in rural Lancashire. Enck argues that incumbent infrastructure players cannot respond to the challenge in the medium term, and that this vacuum needs to be filled by investment from independent sources if the UK is to narrow the gap with other, more advanced countries.