Fibre Nation | Virgin Media Business

On 1^st March 2023, we hosted an exciting event focused on empowering the Altnet community at Twickenham Stadium.

The day was all about sharing knowledge, learning from each other, and enabling important discussions. The event kicked off with an opening address from Diego Tedesco, our Director of Virgin Media O₂ Business Wholesale Fixed who emphasised our commitment to supporting Altnets. With the largest dark fibre footprint in the UK, a national optical network, and cost-effective short distance variants, as well as a carrier-grade Ethernet network, we are well-placed to help Altnets move forward, faster.

The event featured a host of engaging speakers, including Simon Clement, Technology Strategy Director at Liberty Global, who explored the emerging technology landscape and its impacts on the demand for capacity. From the Metaverse to Quantum Technology, Simon talked through the trends Liberty Global are tracking and how they will drive consumer bandwidth over time.

Attendees also had the chance to see our new Smart Planning Tool in action during a presentation by Kat Randall Bowmaker, Virgin Media O₂ Business’s Head of Commercial, Wholesale Fixed. This tool delivers fast and reliable visualisation of our entire Core and Access Infrastructure networks and our Core and Metro transmission networks alongside the Openreach PIA network all on a simple to use single platform.

The day closed with an informative panel session chaired by James Audley, Head of Wholesale Strategy, Marketing and Business Performance at Virgin Media O₂ with some of our Altnet partners. They discussed their experiences working with us to build their networks and what backhaul excellence looks like.