“The project is stopped,” Murtra said, clarifying that the “plan is not on pause”.
Virgin Media O2, which is jointly owned by Liberty Global and Telefónica, had stated in 2024 that it intended to spin off its fixed network into a subsidiary called NetCo.
Meanwhile, Virgin Media O2 has posted that its gigabit broadband network increased by 114,900 premises in Q2 2024 to cover 18.53 million UK homes. But related customers saw another decline to total 5,643,500 (down by -51.4k in Q2 vs -44k in Q1) and O2’s mobile base also saw a decrease in subscribers but a rise in wholesale prices.
“Against a tough trading environment, we have continued to be disciplined delivering growth in profitability which means we are reconfirming our guidance for the year. We are carefully balancing volume and value through a multi-brand strategy in both fixed and mobile, underpinned by a continued improvement in customer service and one of the country’s best loyalty programmes with Priority from O2. In B2B, our new company with Daisy Group has received all relevant approvals and is now ready to go with an imminent launch, creating a dedicated entity with the scale, focus and expertise to deliver a great service for British businesses and drive long-term enterprise growth for Virgin Media O2. Our significant network investments are continuing, as we leverage our scaled gigabit broadband network today and rollout fibre for future, and on the mobile side we continue to boost our network across the country, expand 5G Standalone to more areas and have announced a significant spectrum acquisition that will materially enhance our network performance in future, further improving customer experience,” commented Lutz Schüler, Chief Executive Officer, Virgin Media O2 (pictured).