From Fibre Construction to Commercial Survivability

The UK fibre story has changed faster than most business plans could keep up with. For 1ServCo, an innovative design, build and connect contractor, operating in the middle of that shift, the view from the coalface feels very different to the glossy investment decks of 2020–21. What follows is a personal take on what has really changed, and what that means for the next chapter of the AltNet journey.

Five years ago, the narrative was simple: the UK needed fibre, the incumbents were too slow, and AltNets were the answer. Capital flowed, “homes passed” charts went up and to the right, and teams were built around one dominant idea – build as fast as you can and they will come.

Today the map looks very different. Full‑fibre networks now pass roughly four out of five premises, and gigabit coverage is nudging close to nine in ten homes when you add DOCSIS and fibre together. AltNets have done a huge amount of that work, roughly doubling their footprint to around 16 million premises since early 2024 and accounting for well over half of all FTTP coverage.

But the financial picture tells a harder story. Sector‑wide, the largest AltNets are estimated to have racked up losses of around £1.5bn in 2024 alone as operating costs stayed high, ARPU softened and interest costs bit. In simple terms: the fibre is in the ground, but the money isn’t flowing back into the bank.

Insight 1: Scale without utilisation is a liability

The first big lesson is uncomfortable but unavoidable: scale only helps if it is used. There are now millions of “ready for service” homes sitting on AltNet footprints that generate no revenue at all. Take‑up varies wildly – some operators are nudging 40–50% penetration in their best patches; others are marooned in single digits.

For leadership teams, that means the job has flipped. The marginal pound deployed into new build in an already well‑served area is far less valuable than the marginal pound deployed into turning existing coverage into connected, paying, loyal customers. The scoreboard has changed from “how many homes can you pass?” to “how many homes and businesses do you actually serve, on what economics, and for how long?”.

From a 1ServCo perspective, this is where operational discipline and smarter partnering matter more than raw build capacity. If you can’t afford to own every function end‑to‑end, you have to know exactly which levers you keep in your own hands and which you give to trusted partners – and then measure performance obsessively.

Insight 2: Consolidation will reward the prepared, not just the big

If you read the headlines, you might assume a huge consolidation wave has already swept the market. The reality is more measured. Yes, there is a growing list of deals, restructurings and combinations – enough for dedicated “consolidation trackers” to exist – but there are still over a hundred AltNets active in one form or another.

What has changed is the tone of the conversation. Analysts and advisors now talk openly about a medium‑term end state where three or four national‑scale platforms dominate alongside a ring of focused regional and niche players. Debt markets have tightened, new greenfield financing has largely dried up, and more equity is being used to shore up platforms that can show credible paths to cash generation and M&A.

For CEOs, this creates a fork in the road:

Either you are building a platform that could be a consolidator (or a prized anchor asset for one), or you are building a business that will need a safe landing as the market matures.

In both cases, preparation matters more than size. Clean data, well‑documented networks, realistic penetration assumptions, and a clear operating model make you easier to value, easier to integrate and, ultimately, harder to ignore.

Insight 3: Operational excellence is the new differentiator

The third lesson is that what used to be seen as “boring plumbing” is now where the real competitive edge sits. Many AltNets went into the build phase with fragmented systems, manual processes and contractor models better suited to projects than to long‑term operations. That was survivable when the only priority was build speed; it is unaffordable in a world of tight margins and hawk‑eyed lenders.

The next few years will belong to operators that treat operations as a product in its own right. That means:

Using modern OSS/BSS stacks and data to understand where every metre of network is, what condition it is in, and how it is performing. Designing field and customer processes that minimise truck rolls, shorten install times and fix issues first time as standard, not as an exception. Making conscious choices about where to be asset‑heavy and where to be asset‑light, leaning on managed services and automation where others can do the heavy lifting more efficiently.

From a 1ServCo lens, this is exactly where a specialist operations partner can create real value in the ecosystem: by helping AltNets convert CapEx into dependable service quality and predictable OpEx, without forcing them to become mini‑incumbents with bloated internal cost bases.

So where does this leave AltNets – and leaders like us?

If the first half of the 2020s was the build‑out decade, the second half will be the utilisation decade. The UK already sits around the mid‑ to high‑80s for gigabit coverage, ahead of early political targets, and full fibre is on track to cover the vast majority of premises. The remaining white spots still matter – socially and economically – but they won’t rescue flawed business models on their own.

The leaders who thrive in this next phase will be the ones who:

• Accept that the game has changed, and rebase their strategies around realistic penetration and OpEx, not legacy CapEx ambitions.
  

• Decide clearly whether they are building platforms, partners or niche champions – and then align capital structure, operations and culture to that choice.
  

• Invest in the unglamorous but vital work of making their operations data‑driven, partner‑friendly and customer‑obsessed.

  
  

For 1ServCo, that is where the opportunity lies: helping turn great engineering work from the last five years into great businesses over the next ten. The fibre is here; now it is about who can run it well enough, and smart enough, to still be here in 2030.