Richard Tang on consolidation, competition and AI at Zen’s 2026 Partner Event

The UK connectivity market is entering a new phase – and according to Zen founder and CEO Richard Tang, the next two years could represent one of the biggest opportunities partners have seen in the full fibre market to date.

Speaking at Zen’s 2026 ‘Get Turned On’ Partner Event, Richard shared his thoughts on industry consolidation, the continued growth of The Fibre Hub, and how AI is beginning to reshape the way businesses operate.

Consolidation across the fibre market

A major theme of the keynote was the pace of consolidation across the UK alt-net sector.

Richard has previously likened the alt-net market to “Wacky Races”, with multiple contenders racing to roll out their fibre footprints. But now there’s a new theme emerging – consolidation.

In his presentation, Richard highlighted the proposed acquisition of Netomnia by Nexfibre / Virgin Media O2 as a defining moment for the market, suggesting it could trigger a faster wave of mergers and acquisitions across the sector.

At the same time, he stressed the importance of maintaining strong competition across the industry: “Industry consolidation was always inevitable in full fibre. What matters is that network competition remains strong.”

That balance between consolidation and competition remained a recurring theme throughout the session, particularly as operators continue to scale their networks and look for long-term sustainability.

Richard also pointed to the recently completed merger between Freedom Fibre and Truespeed as another example of how the market is evolving. The combined business now gives partners access to a significantly larger footprint, with further expansion expected in the future.

The Fibre Hub continues to expand

Richard reinforced Zen’s ambition to become the UK’s “alt-net aggregator of choice”, highlighting the growing range of networks and products now available through The Fibre Hub.

Alongside existing access to networks including Openreach and CityFibre, partners can now access additional footprints and services through providers such as Freedom Fibre, MS3 and others.

The launch of MS3 services on The Fibre Hub was also announced during the event.

Richard described the platform’s growth as a “chain reaction”, with every new network making the platform more valuable for partners and providers alike.

That growing reach is also helping providers retain customers when they move outside of their own network footprint, while expanding service availability into off-net areas.

The next two years represent a major opportunity

While consolidation dominated much of the industry discussion, Richard’s overall message to partners was optimistic.

With multiple operators continuing to build and compete aggressively, he believes the market is currently in a particularly strong position for growth.

“We see a window of opportunity to win new full fibre business, particularly in the next two years.”

Richard encouraged partners to make the most of the current competitive environment while network investment and expansion remain at full pace across the UK.

AI is moving from experimentation to deployment

The second half of the keynote focused on AI and the role it’s beginning to play across Zen’s business.

Richard shared updates on several AI-powered tools already in use across the business, including customer-facing chatbots and internal support systems. Zen is currently handling about 4,000 chatbot conversations per month, with AI now supporting teams across customer service, operations and development.

He also outlined Zen’s plans for more advanced AI-powered services later this year, including voice-based AI assistants and proactive account management tools designed to help partners complete routine tasks more quickly.

One example included AI-driven availability monitoring, allowing partners to upload customer lists and automatically receive updates when full fibre becomes available in those areas.

Zen is also seeing measurable operational benefits internally, with Richard noting that AI-assisted development tools have already improved coding productivity within the business.

Challenging old ways of working

Closing the session, Richard described AI as a transformational shift for businesses across every sector.

Rather than focusing purely on the technology itself, he encouraged partners to think about how AI could help challenge long-established processes and ways of working.

For Richard, the businesses that adapt fastest and embrace change early will be best positioned to benefit from the opportunities ahead.

And if the pace of change across both fibre and AI markets is anything to go by, 2026 may prove to be a defining year for the industry.

If you’re not already a Zen partner and want to access the growing range of networks and opportunities available through The Fibre Hub, get in touch with the team.