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The UK’s largest alternative broadband provider, CityFibre, has today announced that they’ve agreed a deal to sell their non-core off-net business, Entanet, to telecoms entrepreneur Tom O’Hagan, who is best known as the founder and former CEO of Ethernet provider Virtual1 (this became part of the TalkTalk group in 2022 – here).
Regular readers with a long memory may recall that business-focused communications provider Entanet was previously acquired by Cityfibre in July 2017 for a cash consideration of £29 million (here), which was initially used to help grow their business wholesale base via a number of ISPs. But the brand hasn’t really been spoken about much in public since then, so this is quite a blast from the past. Entanet used to be a very well known brand in the sector.
As for CityFibre, their full fibre broadband network currently covers over 4.7 million UK premises (4.5m Ready for Service) and they aspire to reach 8 million premises in the future. The new Entanet transaction, which is subject to final approvals, is said to enable the operator to focus “exclusively on scaling services delivered over its own full fibre infrastructure, while positioning Entanet for growth under new ownership“.
The sale includes Entanet-linked partners that are served outside CityFibre’s network footprint, along with associated managed services, network assets, systems and support functions. Under the deal, Entanet will now operate as a “standalone wholesale aggregator” and benefit from “renewed investment in products, systems and customer experience” (expect more automation and new off-net products).
Drawing on his experience of building and scaling Virtual1, Tom O’Hagan aims to expand Entanet’s proposition, invest in its Telford base, and grow its partner relationships. Entanet will also become a new strategic wholesale customer of CityFibre.
George Wareing, Chief Commercial Officer at CityFibre, said:
“CityFibre’s acquisition of Entanet almost a decade ago played an important role in accelerating our business market growth. This sale is the natural next step, allowing us to simplify our model and focus exclusively on providing services over our own infrastructure. We’ll be able to innovate faster, further improve performance and support all our customers more effectively. We welcome Entanet as a new strategic customer of CityFibre and look forward to growing together as demand for full fibre continues to accelerate.”
Tom O’Hagan said:
“I have built a leading UK wholesale business once before, and I see a great opportunity with Entanet. This is a strong business with 30 years of heritage and a loyal partner base and our intent is to build it into a wholesale platform of real scale. That means serious investment in automation, a broader product portfolio, and service that delights partners and leads the market, alongside a relentless focus on their success.
CityFibre’s network is central to that ambition, and we will expand what we deliver over it as we grow the connectivity portfolio on our aggregation platform. I also see real opportunity to consolidate a fragmented wholesale market, and Entanet is the right platform from which to do it.”
The transition for Entanet is already said to be “underway” and will be carefully managed to avoid problems. Entanet will continue to operate under its established brand, with no disruption to ordering, provisioning or in-life service support.
The same announcement notes that during the first quarter of 2026, sales of Business FTTP and Ethernet on CityFibre’s network grew 133% and 42% respectively year on year. The development essentially ensures that CityFibre keeps its national broadband and Ethernet network to a wholesale-only focus.