Mark Tomlinson, CEO of Country Connect, had 6 Mbps ADSL at home, so he built a full fibre Alt-Net!

Most Alt-Nets depend on huge injections of external equity and debt, but Mark Tomlinson has managed to build Country Connect in South Wales organically to nearly 10k premises whilst keeping hold of his ownership of the company. And that 10k will be 20k by the end of 2026.

Despite being CEO, Mark has built about a third of Country Connect’s network himself!... getting his hands dirty with PIA, and giving him an average build cost of £180, which is the lowest in the industry.

Country Connect’s 9 employees do a great job of running a full fibre Alt-Net AND a vertically integrated ISP, and they have decent automation to boot. Amazing! It’s small but perfectly formed.

What does the future hold though? And at what price would Mark sell out?

Huge thanks Mark for doing this interview – a super-interesting insight into the world of a micro-Alt-Net.

CHAPTERS
0:00 – Is it possible to build an Alt-Net organically?
0:45 – Country Connect story
1:25 – Mark had ADSL at home, so he started a full fibre Alt-Net!
1:34 – Organic Alt-Net growth model
2:35 – Micro Alt-Net of 10k premises
3:24 – What is it like to personally use PIA
4:26 – Alt-Net + ISP with 9 people
5:58 – “Not scalable”
6:21 – 20k RFS by end 2026
6:59 – £180 build cost is lowest in industry
8:39 – Where will £2m come from?
9:30 – I’d sell for £10m
11:08 – Building a generational business, but is it realistic?
13:17 – Why did increased competition from nexfibre help?
14:09 – 35%-40% overbuilt by nexfibre
14:24 – Wholesale plans?
15:17 – Wider market thoughts?
16:45 – Will CityFibre or Netomnia consolidate the market?
17:16 – BDUK written off