VMO2 Rolls Out New Fiber Wholesale Division After Abandoning NetCo Plan

VMO2 (the Liberty Global / Telefónica joint venture) has announced a strategic shift after abandoning the planned creation of a fixed NetCo, opting instead to launch a dedicated fiber wholesale division under internal control. This move combines its wholesale operations across consumer and business segments under unified leadership.

Originally, VMO2 intended to spin off its fiber business into a separate wholesale company (NetCo) that would challenge incumbent Openreach. However, following internal leadership changes at Telefónica and a strategic review, those plans were shelved.

In place of the spinout, the new model consolidates wholesale roles into a single team led by Julie Agnew, MD of fixed wholesale & customer delivery, with Diego Tedesco named executive director of fixed wholesale.

This wholesale unit will provide access only to XGS-PON fiber premises within VMO2's combined footprint, including assets built by Nexfibre, a VMO2 affiliate. In total, the fiber network reaches more than 7 million premises in the UK.

VMO2 says it intends to support a wide mix of wholesale partners — ISPs, resellers, enterprise carriers — offering new commercial models grounded in digital architecture, streamlined processes, and improved customer journeys.

The rationale: recognizing that full NetCo establishment may be too capital-intensive or high risk under current management and market conditions, VMO2 is instead deploying a hybrid model that retains control but exposes fiber capacity via a wholesale offering. This gives it greater flexibility while still competing on wholesale access.

Critics point out that Openreach continues to dominate: its fiber footprint now covers 19 million premises, with plans to expand to 25 million by 2026 and possibly 30 million by decade's end. For VMO2, the challenge is differentiating its wholesale offering through service quality, speed, customer experience, and niche commercial models.

Whether VMO2's new wholesale strategy will meaningfully dent incumbent dominance remains to be seen—but by unifying its wholesale operations and leveraging its fiber assets, it has reset its commercial approach to challenge the UK's fixed broadband wholesale ecosystem.