There’s another shake-up in the UK broadband market this week. Toob, the Hampshire-based altnet that has been quietly building out gigabit fibre in the South of England, has just switched on a much bigger footprint through CityFibre.
From today, its broadband packages can be ordered in 33 new towns and cities, adding more than 1.1 million extra homes and businesses to its coverage.
Who is Toob?
Toob is one of the newer names on the broadband scene. Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Southampton, it set out with a very simple pitch: fast, affordable, no-nonsense fibre broadband. Instead of juggling dozens of packages, Toob has stuck to a single gigabit plan. That means symmetrical download and upload speeds, unlimited usage, and no mid-contract price rises – the sort of clarity most households have been calling for.
The operator has made steady progress across Hampshire and Surrey, reaching places like Southampton, Portsmouth, Farnborough and Camberley with its own network. By September 2025, Toob’s fibre covered around 256,500 premises and it now counts 100,000 customers. Its stated aim is to build to 300,000 premises on its own fibre before the end of 2026.
Partnership with CityFibre
The new development is all about scale. Toob has a reciprocal wholesale arrangement with CityFibre, the UK’s largest independent fibre network. That deal means Toob can sell its packages in every town and city where CityFibre is live, while CityFibre can also offer wholesale access back onto Toob’s own build.
As a result, Toob broadband is suddenly available in 33 extra locations across the UK, not just its home territory. This takes its addressable market far beyond the quarter of a million premises it has built itself, and puts it alongside other providers such as Vodafone, TalkTalk and Zen who also ride on the CityFibre platform.
Financial Backing
Expansion on this scale needs deep pockets. Toob is financed through a mix of equity from Amber Infrastructure Group and debt from Ares Management’s infrastructure division. At the end of 2023, that funding package stood at £395 million committed. It’s a hefty amount by altnet standards and underpins both the direct fibre build and wholesale expansion.
What Toob Offers Customers
What sets Toob apart is the simplicity of its service:
- Gigabit speeds as standard – no half-measures or confusing speed tiers.
- Symmetrical upload and download – useful for home workers, gamers, and anyone sharing large files.
- Unlimited usage – no caps, no throttling.
- No mid-contract price hikes – something that has put many bigger ISPs under scrutiny.
Contracts usually run for 24 months, with introductory offers often attached. Toob has leaned on its reputation for straight-talking pricing and a product that does one thing well: provide fibre broadband that is fast and predictable.
The Bigger Broadband Picture
The UK’s full fibre race is crowded. Openreach and Virgin Media O2 are still the heavyweights, with nationwide footprints and tens of millions of customers. But altnets like Toob, Hyperoptic, Community Fibre, and CityFibre have been carving out their share by focusing on targeted builds and simple pricing.
Wholesale deals are now becoming the norm. CityFibre already sells access to multiple retail providers; Toob’s decision to join that list is less about reinventing the wheel and more about extending its brand reach quickly. For consumers, it simply means another name offering gigabit speeds in areas where choice has often been limited.
What This Expansion Means
- Scale: 1.1 million extra premises can now order Toob broadband.
- Competition: More providers using CityFibre means sharper deals in those areas.
- Visibility: Toob shifts from being a regional ISP to a brand seen in major UK towns and cities.
- Future growth: Reciprocal access with CityFibre helps build a bridge towards national recognition.
Looking Ahead
Toob’s challenge now is to turn this wider footprint into actual subscriber numbers. Building awareness in markets far from its Hampshire base won’t be easy, but the attraction of a flat-rate gigabit service with no hidden extras could prove a strong differentiator.
The operator still plans to complete its 300,000 on-net build target, but the partnership with CityFibre gives it a way to play on the national stage at the same time. With the UK landline network shifting rapidly to fibre, Toob is now well placed to compete with both the incumbents and the other altnets pushing for scale.
Key Numbers at a Glance
- Extra coverage announced: 1.1 million premises.
- New locations added: 33 towns and cities.
- Current own-build coverage: 256,500 premises (Sept 2025).
- Target own-build coverage: 300,000 premises.
- Customer base: 100,000.
- Funding commitment: £395m (Amber + Ares).
Wrap Up
Toob has moved from being a local full fibre builder in Hampshire to a brand with a national presence. By opening up access through CityFibre, it can now reach over a million more premises overnight. For households, it means another choice of gigabit broadband provider, often with clearer pricing than the big players.
The future for altnets is all about partnerships and reach. Toob’s move shows that small operators can punch above their weight if they plug into the right networks. Whether that translates into subscribers and sustained growth will be the next chapter in the story.
