22
Strategic report
OCU Group | Annual report and financial statements 2025
Governance
Financial statements
Market opportunity
Digital Infrastructure
Outlook Across both fixed and mobile domains, the UK digital infrastructure market is characterised by steady, government-backed growth initiatives and rising private investment. Long-term programs like Project Gigabit and nationwide 5G expansion provide visibility into a multi-year rollout pipeline. This translates into a balanced opportunity landscape – one focused more on reliable, incremental build-out and upgrade work than cyclical booms. For investors, the sector offers relatively stable growth prospects underpinned by essential connectivity needs and policy support, with revenue streams spanning initial network deployments through ongoing maintenance and modernisation.
International outlook: North America and Australia
North America: Telecoms infrastructure growth remains strong, driven by market demand and state-led investment. In the United States, broadband expansion continues through a combination of public programs and private-sector initiatives, with states progressing rollout plans adapted to evolving federal guidance. Canada maintains ambitious targets to reach 98% household broadband coverage by 2026 and full access by 2030. US mobile operators have deployed over 142,000 small cell sites to expand 5G coverage, with densification a continuing priority. North America also leads in data centre development, underpinned by rising demand for cloud and AI infrastructure. The US hosts nearly half the world’s hyperscale data centres, with growth extending to regional edge locations. These trends continue to drive fibre investment and digital infrastructure upgrades across both urban and underserved areas. Australia: Similar trends are unfolding in Australia’s telecoms sector. The state‑backed NBN Co is upgrading its network to deliver gigabit fibre broadband across the country – over 9 million premises (approximately 90% of the fixed-line network) can now access ultrafast speeds, with a target of 10 million by the end of 2025. These fibre expansion efforts are bridging the urban‑rural digital divide and phasing out legacy copper in many areas. On the wireless side, Australian operators launched 5G in 2019 and have rapidly expanded coverage to about 85% of the population as of mid-2023. They are on course to reach around 95% population coverage during 2025 as networks are further densified with new sites and small cells. Additionally, Australia is emerging as a key market for data centre investment in the Asia-Pacific region. Global cloud and co-location companies are building large data centres around Sydney and other hubs to support growing cloud usage and data sovereignty needs. Australia now ranks among the top locations outside the US and China for hyperscale data centres by volume. This trend is spurring significant construction activity and associated telecoms infrastructure build-outs; for example, high-capacity subsea and terrestrial fibre links to connect new facilities. Overall, North America and Australia illustrate the global momentum in digital infrastructure development, emphasising universal fibre connectivity, next-gen mobile coverage, and the build-out of data centres, all pointing to sustained international opportunities in parallel with the UK market.
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