Britain's biggest cable rival may start renting BT's fibre lines in places it doesn't reach, and pause its own upgrades. Here's who that affects.
Virgin Media doesn't use Openreach today. It runs its own cable and fibre network, separate from BT's. But Virgin Media O2 is reported to be close to a deal to sell broadband over Openreach full fibre to new customers in areas its network doesn't cover. Neither company has confirmed it.
The same report says Virgin is pausing upgrades of its older cable network and new fibre builds, as it deals with around £22 billion of debt. Virgin and Nexfibre reach about 19 million UK premises now, while Openreach's fibre is expected to reach 25 million by the end of the year.
Does Virgin Media use Openreach? Today the answer is no: Virgin runs its own cable and fibre network, completely separate from BT’s. That could change soon. Virgin Media O2 is reported to be close to a deal to sell broadband over Openreach’s full fibre lines to new customers in parts of the UK its own network doesn’t reach.
It would be a remarkable turn. Virgin has spent decades as the main alternative to BT’s network, and the same report says it is also pausing plans to upgrade its older cable lines to full fibre. If you’re a Virgin customer, or you’ve been waiting for Virgin to reach your street, the details matter. Neither Virgin Media O2 nor BT has confirmed anything, and both declined to comment.
No. Virgin Media built its own network, so when you sign up you get a Virgin cable or fibre line, not a BT one. Openreach is the part of BT that runs the country’s main phone and broadband network, and providers such as Sky, TalkTalk and Vodafone rent lines from it. Virgin has always been the big exception.
Right now, Virgin Media and Nexfibre, a fibre company that shares some of the same owners, reach around 19 million homes and businesses between them. About 9 million of those get full fibre, meaning fibre all the way to the building. The rest use Virgin’s older hybrid fibre coax network, where fibre runs to the street and a coaxial cable does the last stretch. The UK has around 32 million premises in total, so Virgin can’t sell to a large share of the country.
Openreach is a much bigger footprint. Its full fibre network is expected to reach 25 million premises by the end of this year.
Under the reported terms, Virgin Media O2 would use Openreach’s fibre to sign up new customers only in areas where it has no network of its own. It would not move existing customers off Virgin’s lines.
That means three groups of people could see something different:
No prices, speeds or launch dates have been reported yet, so it’s too early to say whether Virgin over Openreach would cost more or less than the same plan from Sky or BT.
Money is the short answer. Virgin Media O2 is carrying debt of around £22 billion, and its owners have been pushing for about £600 million of cost cuts. Laying new fibre and rebuilding an old cable network are both very expensive, while renting existing lines is much cheaper up front.
Virgin’s own upgrade plan had once aimed to bring full fibre to its whole cable area by the end of 2028, but that target hasn’t been repeated for a while. The reported pause would push it further away.
There’s a second reason the timing looks pointed. Nexfibre agreed to buy Netomnia, the parent company of Britain’s second-largest alternative fibre network, in a deal worth £2 billion. That deal was meant to unlock about £3.5 billion of investment and grow Nexfibre’s full fibre network from about 2.6 million premises to 8 million by the end of 2027, while also moving 2.1 million Virgin homes from cable to fibre.
The Competition and Markets Authority, the UK competition watchdog, has said it could block the takeover. Virgin Media O2’s owners, Liberty Global and Telefonica, said last week they would challenge that position instead of offering fixes. Some industry watchers see the Openreach news as a signal to the regulator: block the deal, and BT’s biggest rival leans more on BT.
For most households, more choice on Openreach lines is mildly good news. If you live outside Virgin’s area, you’d gain one more provider to compare, and bundles with O2 mobile could become available in more places.
The worry is the other side. Rival networks compete on speed and price partly because they own their own cables. If Virgin builds less and rents more, the UK has one fewer company racing to put new fibre in the ground. Customers waiting on Virgin’s cable-to-fibre upgrade are the ones most likely to feel that.
Here’s what you can do now:
No. Openreach belongs to BT. Virgin Media O2 is owned by Liberty Global and Telefonica and runs its own network.
Not under the reported plan. It covers new customers in areas Virgin’s network doesn’t reach.
Not yet. It is based on a newspaper report citing people familiar with the talks, and both companies declined to comment.
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