FullFibre and Zzoomm have announced plans to merge.

The two UK alternative network providers (altnets) confirmed the deal yesterday (January 27), which is set to combine 600,000 properties ready for service and more than 65,000 customers.

Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

According to both companies, the merger will pave the way for further M&A opportunities in the altnet sector, which has seen a lot of consolidation in recent years.

Matthew Hare, CEO of Zzoomm, will become executive chairman, and James Warner, CEO of FullFibre, will become Group CEO.

“An enlarged business with the operational and financial infrastructure, benefitting from the economies of scale, as well as a management team with an exceptional track record, we will have an excellent platform to combine with other altnets in the near future as well as driving organic growth faster," said Hare.

Warner added: "This merger represents another significant step in our journey. With a shared commitment to delivering transformational full fiber connectivity with exceptional customer experience, this deal strengthens our collective ability to grow even faster and seize new market opportunities."

Founded in 2018, Zzoomm operates across 29 market towns in England, and has more than 30,000 contracted customers and more than 200,000 ready-for-service properties.

FullFibre was established a year earlier and operates across 81 market towns and small urban communities in England. The wholesale network operator has 400,000 ready-for-service premises.

The merger is expected to be completed early this year, as noted in the announcement.

Last year, CityFibre CEO Greg Mesch publicly declared that altnets have sparked the UK's fiber push, and have scared the industry incumbents such as Openreach and Virgin Media O2.

Mesch said that CityFibre was founded on consolidation. The company acquired Lit Fibre, another altnet in May, a move that added 300,000 premises to its footprint.