The Fibre Hub: Our strategic milestone in becoming the UK's leading Alt-Net aggregator

UK, 7 May, 2025:
Today we officially launched The Fibre Hub at an exclusive event held at 30 St Mary Axe (The Gherkin), starting with access to CityFibre’s extensive full fibre footprint. The Fibre Hub represents a major milestone in our journey to becoming the UK's alternative network aggregator of choice in the channel.

With today’s announcement we can now offer access to a full fibre footprint of nearly 20 million (mn) premises, with this number expected to grow to 22 mn by year-end as more alternative networks are added.

Since the soft launch on 23 April, our Partners have had access to CityFibre Business FTTP with speed options ranging from 160 Mbps to 2.5 Gbps, and CityFibre Residential FTTP with speed options from 1 Gbps to 2.5 Gbps alongside existing Openreach access. This access is now available for all channel businesses to take advantage of. A new residential 160 Mbps tier will be introduced soon.

This development enhances access to future-ready connectivity across the UK, through a single partner and hub, supporting our mission to empower the channel with the reach, flexibility and choice needed to help end-users succeed in a dynamic market.

CityFibre's network spans over 4.4 million UK premises, with Zen covering 3.8 million of these. As the UK's largest alternative network provider, CityFibre offers exceptional reach and connectivity options.

Recently we announced agreements with Trooli and Freedom Fibre, and their networks will be available on the hub later this year. With further alt-nets to be announced soon, The Fibre Hub will continue to broaden options available in the channel, enhancing partners’ ability to deliver ultra-fast full fibre broadband to end users.

The launch includes several new features, such as network migrations, a redesign of the hub (formerly known as Zen’s ICP Portal), and a bulk migration tool.

George Wareing, Chief Sales Officer at CityFibre, commented on the launch: “Our strategic relationship with Zen empowers channel partners to reach even more customers with the best products, the best economics and the best service, all across a growing, future-proof CityFibre network.”

Richard Tang, our Founder and CEO, added: "Hosting the launch of The Fibre Hub at The Gherkin, London's iconic building, reflects our ambition to be the UK’s leading alt-net aggregator, offering unparalleled choice, reach, and performance.

“We are excited to announce rollout timescales including Trooli access from early June, and Freedom Fibre from mid-July. The Fibre Hub is just another example of how we do things differently, and that’s true in lots of ways."

At Zen we operate our own advanced data network and have invested significantly in ensuring it remains robust, fast, and reliable. Channel partners can provide a full range of broadband technologies, from ADSL and SOGEA to full fibre FTTP, backed by our award-winning infrastructure and service.

As a multi award-winning B Corp certified organisation, we put people, planet, and community first. A proudly private and independent business, we are committed to providing high-quality internet services and fostering partnerships in the channel to expand full fibre access across the UK.

About Zen Internet:

Zen Internet is the largest B Corporation certified telecommunications and network connectivity provider in the UK. Zen provides a full range of broadband, data, voice, hosting and infrastructure services to homes and businesses across the country.  The company also delivers complex network and cloud solutions for a wide range of large businesses and corporate customers through its strategic partnerships with AWS and Cisco.   

A Which? recommended provider for broadband for five consecutive years, Zen is renowned for delivering excellent customer service and technical support and has been awarded Best Broadband ISP in PC Pro’s Technology Excellence Awards for 21 consecutive years.

As a proud member of the B Corp community – balancing profit with people and the planet – Zen is carbon neutral and is working towards achieving Net Zero status by 2040.

Zen has offices in Rochdale and employs 650 people. The organisation puts great emphasis on maintaining a people-centric business and was named a Great Place to Work® in November 2021 and November 2023.  

About CityFibre:

CityFibre is the UK’s largest independent full fibre infrastructure platform, providing carrier-neutral digital infrastructure to its wholesale customers and enabling ultra-fast, reliable and futureproof broadband, Ethernet and 5G services to homes and businesses as well as schools, hospitals and GP surgeries. CityFibre is rolling out its full fibre network to reach at least a third of the UK market: more than 8 million premises.

As the UK’s most intelligent fibre network, CityFibre is trusted by major Internet Service Providers and mobile operators including TalkTalk, Three, Vodafone and Zen as well as a new generation of smaller regional ISPs dedicated to delivering full fibre broadband. In August 2024, Sky and CityFibre announced a long-term partnership that will see Sky launch broadband services on the CityFibre network.

CityFibre is based in London and is owned by funds managed by Antin Infrastructure Partners, Infrastructure at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Mubadala Investment Company, Interogo Holding, Newlight Partners and PATRIZIA’s European Infrastructure Fund II.