Draft:Community Fibre
UK broadband provider
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Community Fibre Limited is a UK-based internet service provider (ISP) that delivers 100% full fibre broadband services across London. Branded as Community Fibre, the company built, owns, and operates its own fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) network, serving both residential and business customers. Founded in 2010, Community Fibre has expanded its coverage to over 1.3 million premises[1] with over 400,000 customers,[2] focusing on offering affordable high-speed internet, telephone, and television services across the capital.
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| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Founded | 2010 |
| Headquarters | London, England |
Key people | Graeme Oxby (CEO) |
| Website | communityfibre |
History
2010 – 2015: Early development
Community Fibre was incorporated in 2010 by Callum Dick. Callum met Tim Stranack in 2012 whilst Tim was working for Westminster City Council. Tim came to believe that the Government’s digital inclusion ambitions could only be realised if London’s social housing had access to affordable full fibre broadband. To bring this vision to life, he partnered with Callum who brought investment and expertise from other telecommunication companies he had owned. Westminster City Council granted permission for Community Fibre to install a pilot full fibre network to 342 properties in Pimlico and the first Community Fibre customer was connected on the 7th October 2013. By building, operating and maintaining their own full fibre network, Community Fibre was one of a handful of alternative broadband providers (‘altnets’) in the United Kingdom (UK) ISP marketplace at the time of its founding.
During 2014 Westminster City Council granted permission to expand the pilot network to over one thousand properties in Pimlico.
In 2015 Jeremy Chelot, Sven Huster and Ken McFadyen joined Community Fibre whilst in the same year Wandsworth Council granted permission to bring full fibre broadband to its housing estates. Community Fibre raised its first round of external funding of £3 million advised by Cameron Barney LLP.
2016 – 2020: Further infrastructure investment and expansion
In 2016, the company signed a wayleave with Notting Hill Genesis housing association – Community Fibre’s first master wayleave - to build the network infrastructure necessary to enable full fibre broadband service delivery across its property portfolio.
In 2017 Community Fibre successfully completed a second round of funding from Amber Infrastructure and RPMI Railpen[3] to continue the expansion of its network into other London Boroughs.
By 2019, Community Fibre had built network infrastructure enabling it to provide services to over 100,000 residential properties across London (100,000 ‘homes passed’).
In July 2020 Community Fibre announced that it was investing £400 million in an accelerated expansion of full fibre broadband to one million households and businesses across London. Funds were advised by Warburg Pincus LLC,[4] the private equity firm and DTCP, an investment management group, through the acquisition of a majority stake in Community Fibre Limited, alongside existing investors Amber Infrastructure and RPMI Railpen.
To support the growth of Community Fibre following significant private equity investments, Graeme Oxby was appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in 2019, with Olaf Swantee being appointed Executive Chairman of Community Fibre in 2020.
2021 to present: Growth and profitability
In 2021, Community Fibre became the first ISP to launch a 3,000 Mbps broadband plan.[5] That same year it also launched its social tariff, which is available to all households where Community Fibre service is available, regardless of income level or welfare benefit status.
In the summer of 2021 Community Fibre acquired a majority stake in Box Broadband, a Surrey-based full fibre network operator offering broadband services in parts of Surrey and West Sussex.
In 2022 Community Fibre secured additional funding through a £985 million finance facility[6] to continue its rollout of a full fibre network. By the end of 2022 it had passed 500,000 homes.[7]
By the end of 2023, 1.3 million homes had been passed[8] and Community Fibre had connected over 200,000 customers.
In May 2024 the Box Broadband brand and operating services were absorbed under the Community Fibre brand.[9]
In October 2024 Community Fibre signed a new finance facility with Sequoia Investment Management Company and Alpha Bank raising a total of £125 million,[10] overachieving planned targets and bringing total investment in the company to £1.1 billion.
In April 2025 Community Fibre launched its 5 Gbps residential broadband plan,[11] reported as the fastest home broadband plan available in London.[12]
In June of 2025 VodafoneThree announced a new strategic wholesale agreement with Community Fibre.[13] The partnership will provide access to Community Fibre’s network, allowing VodafoneThree, under the Vodafone brand (as the converged brand in the VodafoneThree portfolio) to offer full fibre broadband to up to 1.3 million homes across the capital, and become London’s largest full fibre supplier.
In September 2025 Community Fibre announced that it had connected more than 400,000 homes and businesses across London and the South East,[2] making it the number one altnet provider in the UK in terms of customer penetration.[14]
Network and operations
Community Fibre has built its own network with 100% full fibre and can therefore provide FTTP (fibre-to-the-premises) technology. This is where fibre-optic cable is used from the exchange to the home or business premise. This is different to providers offering part-fibre connections (fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC)) which use a mix of cable, fibre and copper connections throughout their network and then use copper wire from the street cabinet to the home or premise. Full fibre technology enables faster download/upload speeds, more reliable connections and symmetrical data transfer.[15]
Community Fibre uses Openreach’s Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA) to minimise disruption - utilising existing ducts and telegraph poles where possible for installations. Along with several other altnets, it is part of the PIA Coalition, a group which aims to ensure all users of PIA have a level playing field for access to infrastructure, helping to facilitate the rollout of fibre to homes and businesses.[16]
Products and services
Community Fibre offers up to 5 Gbps broadband to residential customers and up to 10 Gbps broadband to business customers.
Community Fibre’s portfolio of broadband speeds offered to residential customers starts at 35 Mbps which is sold as ‘Essential 35 Mbps’ affordable broadband. Speeds over 35 Mbps but under 100 Mbps have been offered at various times predominantly as part of affiliate marketing offers but they also form part of the core speed portfolio for all residential customers. Broadband is also sold at speeds of 100 Mbps, 300 Mbps, 500 Mbps, 1 Gbps, 2 Gbps, 2.5 Gbps and 5 Gbps.
Community Fibre offer ‘Premium WiFi’[17] which guarantees whole home WiFi coverage (defined as 12 rooms in total with up to five bedrooms across a maximum of three floors) for speeds of 1 Gbps, 2.5 Gbps and 5 Gbps.
Calls, TV and Security services are offered as add-ons to broadband packages. Calls utilise Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology with no line rental charges. Community Fibre TV is powered by Netgem – the service providing over 240 channels, 100 apps and streaming services such as Netflix, Now and Amazon Prime among others. Security services are offered through Norton™ 360 Premium - for online protection from viruses and tracking, together with the provision of VPN services.
In August 2025 Community Fibre launched its flexible eSIM global data roaming plan.[18] This plan is open to both customers and non-customers of Community Fibre. eSIMs are an embedded digital version of a physical microchip in a mobile phone that can store multiple, different SIM card profiles on a single device. eSIMs remove the need to physically switch SIM cards when accessing different services or network providers, being ideal for those travelling abroad. The service is supported by the Community Fibre eSIM app which is available to download from app stores.
Community and digital inclusion
Community Fibre has stated that one of its objectives is to improve broadband accessibility and digital inclusion across London.
The company operates a range of community investment programmes designed to support residents, housing associations, and local authorities.[19]
As part of these efforts, Community Fibre works with landlords across London to provide free 1 Gbps full fibre broadband connections to community spaces such as libraries, shared halls, and housing association facilities. As of May 2025, the company reported that it had connected more than 720 such organisations.[20]
The company’s Digital Ambassadors Programme delivers free in-person training sessions in collaboration with local councils and community groups. These sessions cover digital basics - such as using email, online communication tools, and social media - as well as more advanced skills including website creation. Participants who complete the training may volunteer as digital ambassadors within their own communities.
Through its digital skills hub, Community Fibre offers free digital skills courses in partnership with the Good Things Foundation, aimed at improving access to online resources and supporting digital literacy across London.[21]
Sustainability
Full fibre network technology such as that used by Community Fibre, contributes to improved energy efficiency compared with traditional copper-based broadband systems, as fibre-optic infrastructure typically requires less power and has a longer operational lifespan.[22][23]
Under the UK’s Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) framework, the company has reported year-on-year reductions in emissions from the combustion of fuel for transport between 2023 and 2024. Community Fibre has invested in modern fuel-efficient vans and the gradual adoption of electric vehicles across its operational fleet.[24]