Analysis · 5 min read
The great UK altnet consolidation has begun
After years of land-grab overbuild, the UK’s independent fibre builders are entering a long-predicted phase of mergers and rationalisation.
By Elena Marsh · Infrastructure Editor
London
EuropeUnited Kingdom · Updated 14 Jun 2026
- Population
- 8.9M
- Greater London
- IX
- LINX
- major global IX
- DC corridor
- Slough
- 600MW+ cluster
- Fibre
- Overbuilt
- 2–3 networks common
Overview
London is one of a handful of genuinely global connectivity hubs. It combines deep, competitive full-fibre availability across the metro with the Slough data-centre cluster on its western edge and a dense mesh of subsea routes reaching the Atlantic, Europe and beyond.
Population: 8.9 million (Greater London)
Economic profile
London is Europe’s largest financial centre and a leading hub for technology, media and professional services — a demand profile that makes low-latency, high-capacity connectivity strategically critical.
Connectivity profile
Multiple competing full-fibre networks serve the metro, while LINX (the London Internet Exchange) anchors UK and international peering. The Slough corridor concentrates one of the highest densities of data-centre capacity in the world.
Fibre availability: Multiple overbuilt full-fibre networks across most of the metro
Connectivity ecosystem
Operators
- Openreach
- CityFibre
- Virgin Media O2
Data centres
- Slough Data Centre Campus
Projects
- Project Gigabit
Internet exchanges
- LINX — London Internet Exchange — one of the largest globally
- LONAP — Independent peering point serving the UK
Smart city initiatives
The Greater London Authority’s connectivity programmes target full-fibre access, 5G small-cell deployment on public assets, and open data to support smart mobility and air-quality monitoring.