Sky is reportedly set to move some of its broadband customers to CityFibre's network this year.
As reported by The Financial Times, Sky has said it will provide broadband services using CityFibre's network, as the alternative network provider (altnet) seeks to secure £1.5 billion ($1.92bn) of fresh investment.
The FT reported that tens of thousands of customers could be moved over to CityFibre's network as soon as the end of next month.
Sky reportedly met up with lenders to CityFibre last week, including NatWest and ING, to confirm it would be moving some of its customers to CityFibre’s network this year.
A full scale transfer of Sky's broadband customers to CityFibre's network is expected in the second half of the year.
At present, Sky has more than 5.7 million broadband customers and currently offers the services via BT's Openreach network.
CityFibre struck a long-term partnership with Sky last year for the broadband provider to provide broadband services on CityFibre’s full fiber network. The deal will allow Sky to diversify its customer base.
Founded in 2011, CityFibre is a fiber-only provider. The company's network passes 4.3 million premises, which is behind Virgin Media O2's 6.4 million. Both trail Openreach, a subsidiary of BT Group, which has passed around 17 million premises.
CityFibre has around 518,000 customers on its network and is the largest altnet in the UK.
The FT reports that CityFibre is looking to secure an extra £1bn ($1.28bn) in debt and £500 million ($638m) of fresh equity, while noting that a deal is expected to be completed in the next couple of months. The company currently has debts of around £3.9bn ($4.98bn).
Last month, CityFibre announced the acquisition of Connexin’s full fiber infrastructure. That particular deal will help it to establish a greater presence across Hull and East Riding, while adding up to 185,000 premises to its footprint.
Back in September, CityFibre CEO Greg Mesch declared that alternative network providers (altnets), such as CityFibre, have sparked the UK's fiber push.
