Rural UK Full Fibre Networks County Broadband and Truespeed to Merge

Alternative network provider and UK ISP Truespeed has today confirmed that they’ve “agreed in principle” to merge with County Broadband in order to create a single operator covering 177,000 premises (RFS) and 40,000 customers. Both operators have built full fibre (FTTP) broadband networks across various rural parts of England.

At present Truespeed is mostly focused upon serving rural premises in parts of Devon, Wiltshire and Somerset, where they’ve already covered over 109,000 premises (RFS) and are home to over 24,000 customers. But the operator originally held an “ambitious” overall target of reaching 500,000 properties, although that took a hit after some job losses and a build slowdown (here and here).

Meanwhile, County Broadband has been busy rolling out their own FTTP network across rural parts of Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk in England (i.e. they’ve been building to over 250 villages, but we haven’t had any detail on premises passed or take-up). The operator once held a similar ambition of reaching 500,000 premises, but that too suffered a setback in 2023 after they confirmed redundancies (here).

Suffice to say that both operators are known to have been under many of the same strains as other players in the wider UK market (i.e. rising build costs, high interest rates and competition). As a result, we weren’t surprised when several sources informed us last year that the pair were working toward a merger agreement (both are backed by Aviva), although it’s taken until now for them to finally confirm the development.

The merger brings together two “highly complementary networks and teams“, combining Truespeed’s presence in the South West with County Broadband’s footprint across East Anglia. The combined entity – Truespeed Communications Group Ltd – will serve 177,000 fully Ready-For-Service premises, with 40,000 customers already connected to the network and will be led by James Lowther (Truespeed’s current CEO).

James Lowther said:

“This merger represents an important milestone for both companies and for rural broadband in the UK. Both companies have invested extensively in building ultrafast broadband for underserved parts of the country. Now, we’re coming together to ensure those networks deliver the best possible experience for our customers — today and for decades to come.”

John East, Chairman of County Broadband, said:

“We’re proud of what we’ve built at County Broadband, and this merger is the logical next step for our business and our customers. Together with Truespeed, we’ll be able to even better serve our communities and help to bridge the digital divide.”

The new group is said to have the “full backing of Aviva Investors Limited” and its “focus will be on combining the strengths of both businesses to optimise future growth within its existing footprint“. In practice this means a greater focus on growing customer take up, unlocking operational efficiencies, enhancing customers’ experience and “[providing] an even stronger platform for future investment and further consolidation.”

Following completion (we’re told this will occur in August 2025), customers of both providers have been told to “expect a seamless transition” with “no change to their current services“. Both businesses will also continue to trade under their own names for the “immediate future“. But there was no word on any fresh investment, plans for future network expansion or the possibility of a revamped wholesale offer to help rival ISPs access their network.

Crucially, the combined network is still relatively small in terms of premises passed (it may become a target for consolidators), although the rural nature of both networks does mean that they have quite a wide geographic reach.