Overbuild or opportunity? How we’re balancing full fibre rollout across the UK
Where, how and why we’ve invested so much in our Hypercities.
With our latest Hypercity - Cardiff - now live, we’ve reflected on one of the key differentiators between our six Hypercities to date. While the sentiment - hyperfast internet for everyone - remains the same, there are nuances in how we roll out, depending on the region. One of the key factors that comes into play is the issue of overbuilding.
Overbuilding refers to a situation where two ISPs provide connectivity in the same geographic region, but each with their own infrastructure. With fibre cables being laid across Britain by multiple providers and altnets, the ‘risk’ of overbuilding in the full fibre roll out is particularly pertinent and much discussed.
Overbuilding’s had something of a bad press, perhaps unfairly. To an extent, it’s encouraged by Ofcom, as a way to create competition and make sure consumers and businesses have choice across providers. Usually, where the most overbuild exists, users can get the cheapest full fibre - so it’s very much a case of balancing economic and environmental necessity.
Like most things, there’s not a one size fits all approach. And in fact, the issue of whether to lay more fibre, connect diversely or back off entirely is very much down to location.
Thinkbroadband’s full fibre coverage stats* stood at 76.5% of the UK, as of 1st April 2025, tracking slightly behind the government's target of full fibre availability for 85% of the UK by 2025. But 25-30% of full fibre enabled premises are in areas with overlapping networks from at least two providers - overbuilt areas.
We're not afraid of overbuild. We encourage it as a means to drive down prices and build resilience for businesses. But. We remain wary of how overbuilding in metro areas only serves to widen the gap in digital equity when compared to more rural regions. These are regions that, traditionally, are neglected by ISPs and altnets. At Elevate, we address this gap through WeFibre, our sister company which has a mission to provide connectivity to underserved regions where it’s difficult to build infrastructure.
In metro areas, our Hypercities provide perfect examples of the horses for courses approach.
Horses for courses
London: In London, we made a strategic decision to focus on wireless infrastructure rather than adding to the already extensive fibre networks. With a high density of existing providers and infrastructure, overbuilding fibre would be both costly and unnecessary. Instead, we deployed rooftop point-to-point wireless solutions to deliver high-speed connectivity in areas where fibre installation is challenging due to wayleave restrictions and dense urban construction. Wireless not only avoids the complexities of digging and laying cables but also provides a more cost-effective and less obtrusive alternative.
Cardiff: In Cardiff, we took a different approach. Building an open network in partnership with Cardiff Council and the Welsh Government to minimise overbuilding and create opportunities for altnets to deliver services using our infrastructure. This "build once" philosophy ensures high-quality connectivity is available, but without unnecessary duplication of networks. Through our partnership with the council, we actively expanded fibre coverage in areas that previously had little to no existing infrastructure, providing a foundation for future growth and competition.
Our partnerships with some of the UK's leading ISPs mean we're able to offer partners - and by extension, their customers - choice. We've opened up our dark fibre network extensively through these strategic partnerships, so the channel can provide OnNet opportunities across the UK.
Another key strategy, which we have invested in heavily, is by finding alternative access options. For us, that means point to point rooftop wireless.
Alternative access
We expect wireless radio solutions - and, in fact, the relatively low amount of hardware they require - will be key to building out Britain’s digital infrastructure. Again, this is arguably most relevant in London, which is already densely populated with fibre, but it’s also a very useful connectivity option for remote or hard-to-reach locations.
While we lead with full fibre as the primary connectivity in our Hypercities, London was the exception to the rule. With such a high density of existing fibre networks, wireless infrastructure was a more practical solution and solves problems that are particularly pertinent to the capital - like long wayleave times and huge existing amounts of construction.
Wired infrastructure is a big resource investment. It requires digging, laying cables, and monitoring and maintenance across every kilometre once the network’s in. Wireless can offer the same performance, without any of that disruption.
But! Anecdotally, a recent LinkedIn poll we ran found our partner base is struggling against scepticism about wireless solutions when talking to clients - . This stems from a confusion with WiFi and also this idea that it’s some sort of voodoo if it’s not in the ground like traditional fibre lines.
So. We in the channel world have a responsibility to change this. Because wireless solutions not only remove the potential issues of overbuilding, but offer faster installation with the same levels of speed, security and service. We’ve invested significantly in building a secure wireless radio network, with military grade encryption, to complement our full fibre offer, for exactly this reason.
To learn more about our range of connectivity options suitable for your customers get in touch.