Virgin Media O2 Nears Deal to Use BT Network Beyond Its Current Coverage
Key Facts
Virgin Media O2 is nearing a deal to use BT’s fibre network to serve new customers in areas beyond its current network, Reuters reported, citing a Financial Times report and people familiar with the matter. Neither company has confirmed the proposed agreement, leaving its status unresolved. Under the arrangement described by Reuters, Virgin Media O2 would use BT’s Openreach network to extend service beyond its current footprint. The potential arrangement would put the companies in a wholesale access relationship, with a BT competitor entering areas served by Openreach. Published information contained no confirmed details on the geographic scope, access terms or financial impact of the agreement.
The potential move comes as Virgin Media O2 revises plans for its existing network. Reuters reported that it has halted efforts to upgrade its cable network to fibre as part of a broader cost-cutting programme. The report points to two parallel strands in the company’s approach: suspending upgrade work on its network and seeking to use a rival network to serve new areas. But the report did not specify how much the company would save by halting the upgrade, or whether the proposed agreement would replace any part of its investment plan. It also gave no details on the implementation timeline or the number of potential customers. The link between the upgrade decision and the talks on access to Openreach remains part of the context, with no confirmed details on the deal’s terms.
The news comes amid competition in the UK market, where alternative fibre networks are vying for customers and investment, while the UK Competition and Markets Authority is examining nexfibre’s proposed acquisition of Substantial. The authority said it had provisionally identified competition concerns in the wholesale supply of fixed broadband services. It set 15 December 2026 as the statutory deadline for its investigation into the deal. The case provides a regulatory backdrop to companies’ moves in the wholesale access market, where network deals intersect with competition to provide services over multiple infrastructures. The authority’s investigation is not a ruling on the Virgin Media O2 and BT agreement, which the companies have not confirmed.
In February 2026, the companies involved in the nexfibre and Substantial deal said it would enable around £3.5 billion in investment in the UK fibre market. The figure reflects the investment the parties linked to that deal, but does not establish the value of any investment or expected revenue from the potential access agreement between Virgin Media O2 and BT. No verified details were available on the fees Virgin Media O2 might pay to use Openreach, or on any additional revenue BT might generate. The proposed agreement’s financial impact therefore cannot be inferred from the investment figure announced for another deal. The terms of the agreement and the service areas it might cover remain among the key details not disclosed in the report.
Virgin Media O2 announced in October 2026 that it had begun rolling out 2Gbps internet service over its cable network, which it described as a gigabit network. The announcement provides context for the company’s continued development of services on its existing infrastructure, alongside the report that it may use Openreach beyond its coverage area. Virgin Media O2 also said in February 2024 that its cable and fibre network reached 16 million homes, and that it planned to separate the network into a wholly owned company to support wholesale opportunities and compete with Openreach. That earlier move shows the company had been exploring ways to broaden use of its infrastructure since then. The new agreement, if confirmed, would reportedly concern serving customers in areas beyond its current network.
The potential expansion comes under regulatory rules governing commercial offers on the Openreach network. Ofcom said it had directed Openreach to withdraw its “Additional New Openreach Customer” offer, while deciding not to intervene in the other offers it had been notified of. The authority’s decision concerns Openreach’s commercial offers and does not in itself establish regulatory approval for the reported agreement between BT and Virgin Media O2. The available information did not include Ofcom’s position on the proposed agreement or whether it would require a separate notification. Without confirmation from the companies, the deal’s details, terms and competitive impact remain undisclosed, while 15 December 2026 remains the set deadline for the authority’s investigation into the nexfibre and Substantial deal.