The Competition and Markets Authority has opened a consultation on possible remedies for the proposed acquisition of broadband network business Substantial by nexfibre, after provisionally identifying concerns about competition in wholesale fixed broadband services.
The regulator published its invitation to comment on 20 October 2026. Responses on potential remedies are requested by 5pm on 27 October, while the merger inquiry remains open and a final decision has not been issued.
The proposed transaction involves a group of investors including Liberty Global, Telefónica and InfraVia through their joint venture nexfibre. Substantial includes Netomnia, Brsk, Brsk ISP and YouFibre.
Liberty Global and Telefónica also jointly own Virgin Media O2. The CMA is examining the effect of the proposed network combination on competition between providers that supply fibre infrastructure and services to other businesses.
In its provisional assessment, the authority raised concerns about the wholesale fixed broadband market. Those concerns are the basis for consultation and may change as the regulator considers further evidence and responses from the parties.
The remedies invitation describes possible actions to address the competition effects provisionally identified in the investigation. Prohibition of a transaction may be considered among potential options in merger cases, but inclusion as a possible remedy is not a decision to block the deal.
Other forms of intervention can involve changes to the proposed transaction or commitments concerning the businesses involved. Their suitability depends on the competition problem the regulator ultimately concludes exists.
The transaction parties have challenged the CMA’s assessment of what would occur if the acquisition did not proceed. Their position includes disagreement over the authority’s assumptions about alternative ownership, investment and network development.
Owners associated with nexfibre have said they have not submitted a remedies package because they dispute the regulator’s analysis of the alternative market outcome. That is the parties’ stated position and must not be confused with a final regulator decision on whether a remedy is required.
The broader market includes BT Openreach, Virgin Media O2 and independent fibre network operators competing to deploy and supply broadband infrastructure. Capital availability and network economics can affect the viability of proposed mergers, but those arguments must be tested within the competition inquiry.
The CMA’s timetable provides for further representations before its final statutory decision. It has separately invited responses to its interim report, and the ongoing consultation does not suspend the need for the parties to obtain the necessary approvals.
The inquiry concerns the supply of fixed broadband on a wholesale basis, where network owners provide access or services that other providers can use. The degree of overlap between networks matters to the competition assessment, but the interim finding remains open to challenge.
The parties’ objections centre partly on the counterfactual: the CMA’s assessment of what the broadband market would look like without the transaction. Different assumptions about investment, acquisitions and network survival can affect the conclusion about whether a merger reduces competition.
The company owners have publicly disputed the proposed alternative outcome and said they have not supplied a remedy package. That is not a refusal to comply with a final order, because no such order had been made when the remedies consultation opened.
A prohibition is one potential remedy considered by merger authorities, alongside structural or behavioural changes where suitable. The inclusion of prohibition in an invitation to comment does not make it the selected action or an enforceable decision.
Responses to the remedies consultation may challenge both the existence of a competition problem and the effectiveness of particular interventions. The authority will assess them against the evidence accumulated in the inquiry rather than treating the consultation as a vote on whether the transaction should complete.
The 20 October development is the publication of the remedies consultation following a provisional competition assessment. The CMA has not imposed a remedy, completed the acquisition or formally prohibited it.
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