Nexfibre plans full fibre rollout in Durham

Nexfibre, a wholesale network operator owned by the parent companies of Virgin Media O2, have announced new build plans to reach 40,000 across Durham during 2024.

30,000 of these premises will be focused in the constituency of Sedgefield, which has been welcomed by local MP Paul Howell.

Investment is also being made in Newton Aycliffe, Trimdon, Trimdon Grange, Fishburn, Chilton, Ferryhill and Cornforth.

Durham build

Durham is one of five key areas highlighted in Nexfibre's 2024 build plan, alongside Cheshire, Derbyshire, Kent and Lancashire.

Nexfibre aim to connect 40,000 premises in Durham over the next year, with 30,000 focused in the nearby town of Sedgefield.

Homes and businesses connected to Nexfibre's 10Gbps XGS-PON full fibre technology, will be able to sign up for Virgin Media TV and broadband services, with other retailers also on the horizon.

Paul Howell, MP for Sedgefield, said, "The investment nexfibre is making in Newton Aycliffe, Trimdon, Trimdon Grange, Fishburn, Sedgefield, Chilton, Ferryhill, and Cornforth will create jobs, drive economic growth and help provide better services for people locally. This Conservative government has made boosting access to fibre broadband a priority and we are delivering that for local people and communities here in the North East and across the country. I welcome the work nexfibre is doing to increase access to quality broadband and provide the national scale competition that will drive the innovation and progress the UK needs in the fibre market."

Nexfibre

Nexfibre is a wholesale network operator owned by Liberty Global and Telefonica, the parent companies of Virgin Media and O2.

They've so far passed 1 million premises and plan to connect a total of 5 million premises by 2026, with immediate access to services being provided by Virgin Media and boosting their UK coverage to 21 million premises.

Nexfibre connections offer broadband speeds up to 10Gbps, with Virgin Media already now selling a 2Gbps product called Gig2. Customers will also be able to access Virgin Media TV and discounts through O2 bundles with Volt.

But those connected to the new Nexfibre network will also benefit from greater choice over the coming years, with both Nexfibre and Virgin Media planning to offer their joint network on a wholesale basis to other broadband retailers.

Virgin Media

Nexfibre connects homes and businesses to 10Gbps broadband in areas where Virgin Media is not yet available.

This means an additional 5 million premises will soon be able to access Virgin Media broadband and TV services for the first time.

Those connected to the new network will immediately benefit from Virgin Media's fastest broadband deals, including Gig2 and the symmetrical upload speeds add-on introduced in February 2024.

This puts Virgin Media connections on a par with other independent full fibre networks already offering symmetrical uploads - where the upload speed is as fast as the download speed - and makes them faster than deals currently available through Openreach.

Julie Agnew, Managing Director of Fixed Network Expansion at Virgin Media O2 said, "More than 30,000 homes and businesses in Sedgefield constituency will soon be able to feel the benefit of Virgin Media's services - with packages that include everything from next generation gigabit broadband to easy-to-use TV streaming and entertainment services.

"These ultrareliable full fibre to the home broadband connections come with speeds up to 10 times faster than local average - providing local people with total peace of mind that whatever they're doing online, their connection won't slow them down.".