Britain's competition watchdog has provisionally found that Nexfibre's planned acquisition of fibre broadband operator Netomnia could substantially reduce competition in the wholesale supply of fixed broadband services.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced its interim findings on Friday. Nexfibre, a joint venture backed by Liberty Global, Telefonica and InfraVia, agreed in February to buy the owner of Netomnia, the country's second-largest "altnet" fibre network, for £2 billion ($2.7 billion).
Nexfibre pushes back
Nexfibre said the CMA's findings did not reflect the reality of Britain's fibre market. "It fails to prioritise the fibre investment the country needs, and the creation of a scaled, sustainable challenger to Openreach," the company said in a statement.
The buyers now have the opportunity to submit remedies to answer the regulator's concerns by October 16, before the CMA takes a final decision.
What is at stake
The deal would add more than 3.4 million fibre premises and over 500,000 customers to the partners' British footprint, which would reach 8 million premises with full fibre by the end of 2027 — a direct challenge to BT's national Openreach network, which dominates the country's wholesale broadband market.
Altnet consolidation has been accelerating in Britain as fibre operators race to fund expensive network rollouts, and regulators across Europe have been watching such deals closely for their impact on consumer choice and wholesale access.
Sources: Reuters — UK regulator says Nexfibre-Netomnia deal could hurt competition
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced its interim findings on Friday. Nexfibre, a joint venture backed by Liberty Global, Telefonica and InfraVia, agreed in February to buy the owner of Netomnia, the country's second-largest "altnet" fibre network, for £2 billion ($2.7 billion).
Nexfibre pushes back
Nexfibre said the CMA's findings did not reflect the reality of Britain's fibre market. "It fails to prioritise the fibre investment the country needs, and the creation of a scaled, sustainable challenger to Openreach," the company said in a statement.
The buyers now have the opportunity to submit remedies to answer the regulator's concerns by October 16, before the CMA takes a final decision.
What is at stake
The deal would add more than 3.4 million fibre premises and over 500,000 customers to the partners' British footprint, which would reach 8 million premises with full fibre by the end of 2027 — a direct challenge to BT's national Openreach network, which dominates the country's wholesale broadband market.
Altnet consolidation has been accelerating in Britain as fibre operators race to fund expensive network rollouts, and regulators across Europe have been watching such deals closely for their impact on consumer choice and wholesale access.
Sources: Reuters — UK regulator says Nexfibre-Netomnia deal could hurt competition
