That's according to the Independent Networks Co-operation Association’s (INCA) State of the Altnets report for 2024, which was launched at the Connected North conference in Manchester this week.
Produced in partnership with Point Topic, the report found that 2 million customers were connected to altnet fibre at the end of the 2023.
The collective Altnet footprint also reached 12.9 million premises.
INCA said that this is greater than the estimated number of premises passed by Openreach fibre.
The expectation is that this figure will reach 16.7 million by the end of 2024, with 3 million live connections anticipated.
This represents year-on-year growth in terms of premises passed of 57 per cent, illustrating that, despite economic headwinds, altnets have continued to deploy their networks at an impressive pace, INCA said.
More than half of premises in London can now get a fibre connection from at least one altnet, with other regions – including Yorkshire and the Humber, and the south east following closely behind. Almost 7 million premises which have access to a fibre connection can only get that fibre from an altnet currently.
Despite Ofcom's assertion that premises in some parts of the country (area 3) would be unlikely to be served by any operator other than Openreach, INCA said that altnets have deployed their fibre past 3 million area 3 premises or approximately 32 per cent. And its analysis shows that altnet fibre will pass around 4.5 million premises or 46 per cent by the end of 2025. In comparison, Openreach fibre passed 3.7 million area 3 premises (39 per cent), INCA said.
In terms of live connections, almost half a million customers chose to use altnet services in 2023, resulting in two million live connections – a year-on-year growth rate of 33 per cent.
As far as investment, new capital continued to flow into the sector over 2023 despite adverse conditions, with an estimated £7 billion committed over the year.
Lee Myall, CEO of Neos Networks, said, "Buoyed by private investment and government initiatives such as Project Gigabit, more than 100 altnets have helped to build gigabit-capable networks across the UK. They’re helping to ensure country-wide coverage and offering much-needed choice to customers.
"INCA's report that altnets, together, have now surpassed the number of premises passed by BT's Openreach fibre networks is unsurprising within this context, but the report also highlights the need to increase take-up. The 'build it and they will come' approach won’t necessarily work long-term and to truly compete with legacy ISPs, altnets must be able to deliver the same national reach and unified approach as their competitors.
"As a result, over the next few years, we are likely to see more convergence and collaboration across the altnet landscape as they look to expand their capabilities and interconnect their networks."