CityFibre network nearing 5 million UK premises as connections surge

Jonathan Victoria • 16 Mar 2026

The customer base is also expanding, approaching the one million mark.

CityFibre has reported a strong year of growth, with the UK’s largest independent full-fibre network operator expanding its infrastructure to millions more homes while rapidly increasing the number of customers connected to its network.

The wholesale fibre provider said its nationwide full-fibre network now passes 4.7 million premises, with around 4.5 million homes and businesses ready for service, meaning they can actively order broadband from internet service providers operating on the network.

The company’s footprint continues to grow as it works towards a long-term goal of reaching around 8 million premises across the UK, positioning itself as a major challenger to BT’s Openreach network.

Customer connections approaching one million

While the expansion of its infrastructure has been significant, CityFibre’s latest update also highlights accelerating demand from broadband providers and their customers. The company revealed it now has around 848,000 consumer connections, bringing it close to the milestone of one million active customers on its network.

Customer growth has been particularly strong over the past year. CityFibre added around 330,000 new customers during 2025, an increase of more than 80% compared with the previous year.

Momentum increased further towards the end of the year, with the company installing over 50,000 new customers each month during the fourth quarter, highlighting the growing adoption of full-fibre services in areas covered by its network.

Financially, the company has also recorded a major improvement in performance. CityFibre reported revenue of £170 million for 2025, representing a 27% year-on-year increase. At the same time, adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) surged to £29 million, up sharply from £5 million the previous year.

The results stand out in a fibre market where many smaller alternative network providers have struggled to generate profits as they invest heavily in infrastructure and compete for customers.

Sky partnership and future expansion

A key driver of CityFibre’s recent growth has been the launch of Sky broadband services across its network in July 2025, opening the platform to one of the UK’s largest broadband providers. The partnership significantly expands the number of households able to switch to services delivered over CityFibre infrastructure.

The company’s wholesale model means it does not sell broadband directly to consumers. Instead, it builds and operates the fibre network and allows internet service providers such as Vodafone, TalkTalk and Sky to deliver services over the infrastructure.

CityFibre also said broadband adoption across its network has continued to improve. More than 20% of premises covered by the network now take a service, with the company expecting that figure to exceed 30% by the end of 2026 as more customers migrate from older copper connections.

Alongside rising customer numbers, CityFibre has been strengthening its technology platform. The operator recently completed a nationwide upgrade to 10Gb XGS-PON fibre technology, enabling multi-gigabit speeds and future broadband tiers of 2.5Gbps, 5.5Gbps and beyond for providers using the network.

With network expansion continuing and demand for full-fibre broadband rising, CityFibre believes its wholesale platform is gaining momentum as a long-term competitor in the UK broadband market.