Freedom Fibre Appoints Nathan Vautier as CEO

Founder Neil McArthur to Continue in Strategic Role and Remain on the Board

SALFORD, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Freedom Fibre, a leading UK alternative fibre network provider, is pleased to announce the appointment of Nathan Vautier as its new Chief Executive Officer. Nathan succeeds founder Neil McArthur, who will transition into a strategic role while continuing to serve on the company’s board, ensuring his ongoing involvement in Freedom Fibre’s growth and vision.

As the founder and CEO of the business, Neil McArthur has been instrumental in securing the long-term wholesale contracts with national ISP TalkTalk, and growing Freedom Fibre to where it is today. Neil is an industry veteran having been recently Elected as Honorary Fellow at the Royal Academy of Engineering for his contribution to the sector. His leadership, industry know-how and expertise has been, and will remain, a critical part of Freedom Fibre’s strategy.

Neil, reflecting on the transition, said, “After nearly 30 years in the telecoms sector it’s time I stepped down from the front line. I want to welcome Nathan Vautier to Freedom Fibre and wish him every success driving the company forward.

My move into telecoms started with deregulation in 1996 at Opal Telecom, which teamed up with Carphone Warehouse to form TalkTalk. I have had a splendid career at a really interesting time in the industry’s history, and the opportunity to set up Freedom Fibre was too exciting to resist. Being involved at the start of deregulation and broadband, and now being able to step down as fibre reaches well over 50% of the UK has been my good fortune.

It’s time to let someone else take the reins. I look forward to continue working in a reduced capacity with the great team at Freedom Fibre as the company enters its next phase of growth.”

With over 25 years of industry experience incoming CEO Nathan has held various senior leadership roles in the telecoms sector, starting in infrastructure with Ericsson, then Sony Ericsson, EE, and Brightstar Corporation before moving into PE backed businesses. He is recognized for his relentless focus on key value drivers and ability to deliver sustainable growth.

Most recently in his career, following Community Fibre’s acquisition of Box Broadband, Nathan was appointed CEO of Box Broadband with a mandate to lead the company’s business transformation, increasing customer penetration, operational efficiency, and ultimately the integration into Community Fibre, completed successfully earlier this year.

Nathan stated, “I am honored to be joining Freedom Fibre at such an important stage of its journey. It is an important time in the industry and for the continued development of this critical UK infrastructure and Neil’s vision has laid a strong foundation. I look forward to working with the team to drive continued growth, build on the achievements so far, and enhance the value we deliver to our customers.”

Nathan’s appointment highlights Freedom Fibre’s commitment to long-term success, customer-centric innovation, and operational excellence. His leadership will focus on growing the business as the company embarks on its next phase of expansion, including accelerating commercialization of Freedom Fibre’s network by leveraging the company’s existing wholesale partnership with TalkTalk and driving direct sales through its own ISP, LilaConnect.

Backed by infrastructure investors InfraBridge (a division of DigitalBridge), Equitix and national ISP TalkTalk, Freedom Fibre is well-positioned for future growth following its recent merger with VX Fiber’s UK operations.

About Freedom Fibre:

As a UK FTTP wholesaler, Freedom Fibre is building a reliable, resilient, and lightning-fast full-fibre network for homes and businesses across the North West. Founded by industry leader Neil McArthur, Freedom Fibre has positioned itself as a leader within the AltNet sector, accelerating the UK-wide rollout of gigabit-capable infrastructure.

After a strategic merger with VX Fibre UK in early 2024, Freedom Fibre has continued to take an innovative approach to designing complex networks and has onboarded a range of internet service providers, including Freedom Fibre’s new retail subsidiary, LilaConnect, to offer lightning-fast broadband to more than 300,000 premises.

With further significant growth on the horizon as a result of Project Gigabit contracts awarded from Building Digital UK, Freedom Fibre is rolling out gigabit-capable broadband in North Shropshire and will commence work in rural Cheshire at the beginning of 2025.