Project Mustang, RFoG and Nexfibre

Can someone explain what the difference is between Project Mustang, RFoG and Nexfibre please as I can't find a quick explanation and they are listed on the TB map as different services.

I originally thought that Nexfibre are the supplier of the fibre to homes for Virgin Media customers, RFoG is a way to watch cable TV to over a fibre line and Project Mustang was the code name for converting the old coax network to fibre but I'm wondering why these areas are marked on the map and not just a map showing fibre areas and old coax areas. Do some areas not support RFoG? Why not or is it being phased out already as old technology? Does Project Mustang fibre always come from Nexfibre? Are some areas listed as purely Nexfibre areas that never had coax so therefor are not considered Project Mustang areas?

They are technically different ways of getting high speed into your home.

DOCSIS = Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification - the original coax cabling as used by Cable TV services for decades (back to at least 1970s).

RFoG = Radio Frequency over Glass = using FTTP optical fibre but converting back to Cable TV coax on the outside of your home, so you can use the same TV boxes and Cable Modems/Hubs as people in DOCSIS areas.

nexfibre = a separate company with similar owners that is deploying FTTP to areas that don't have Virgin Media cabling today.

Project Mustang = Virgin Media's project to replace the old DOCSIS Coax areas with real FTTP, and not using RFoG so if you want TV you have to stream over the internet, similar to Sky Stream.

Thanks for that explanation.

So is the Project Mustang a separate fibre network to nexfibre?

Some of my confusion was from seeing how cable is set up at my parent's house in Finland. They have a fibre line coming into the house to the ONT, which then has an ethernet connection for Internet and an RF output for DVB-C cable TV but no DOCSIS style Internet. Sounds like VM won't offer DVB-C once they switch to fibre which makes sense as only VM provide the cable TV boxes here, whereas in Finland you can connect any old TV to the coax output and get lots of FTA and pay TV channels via a CI+ CAM/card.

In reply to a post by timo_w2s:

Thanks for that explanation.

You’re welcome.

So is the Project Mustang a separate fibre network to nexfibre?

Its because of the different ownership structure; Project Mustang is the replacement of the old copper coax that was being installed from 1990 onwards with modern FTTP optical fibre and this is only happening in areas where existing coax cabling exists. This is Virgin Media & its two owners (Telefonica & Liberty Global) doing this. It aims to replace all the old coax areas eventually, or they can’t compete with the other networks such as CityFibre or even Openreach’s FTTP. This network is not currently (project announced then abandoned last month) to be available to any other ISPs other than Virgin Media.

The nexfibre network is owned by Virgin Media, Telefonica, and an investment house, InfraCapital Partners. It is building in areas where there is no existing Virgin Media cabling, and it has plans to be available to other ISPs other than Virgin Media, e.g. GiffGaff are trialling according to ISPreview.

Some of my confusion was from seeing how cable is set up at my parent's house in Finland. They have a fibre line coming into the house to the ONT, which then has an ethernet connection for Internet and an RF output for DVB-C cable TV but no DOCSIS style Internet. Sounds like VM won't offer DVB-C once they switch to fibre which makes sense as only VM provide the cable TV boxes here, whereas in Finland you can connect any old TV to the coax output and get lots of FTA and pay TV channels via a CI+ CAM/card.

Yes exactly. It has been many years since you’ve been able to plug a UK TV directly into a cable line and get any analogue pictures. In most cases the analogue transmissions were at a higher frequency than the TV tuner supported (designed for terrestrial, what we now call Freeview). So in analogue days you had a simple “tuner box” with its own remote. For many years, VM’s TV service has been digital only, the external box required to decrypt and provide over SCART or more recently HDMI.

The UK has never really had the open nature of other European countries for cable or Satellite. E.g. Sky TV never sold a CAM module so as the only/biggest satellite provider in the UK there was no market for a DVB-S receiver with CAM card slot… very different to central europe. I don’t think the UK did DVB-S as an open standard.

DOCSIS was the retro fit of the US invented cable technology to allow for two directions, many UK cable networks had to upgrade lots of street hardware to support cable modems back in the early 2000s.

VM and Sky are both positioning themselves for a fully IP only TV service. Rumours are that Sky is thinking when sufficient percentage of the UK has high speed internet at home they can stop paying for expensive satellite time and provide their expensive TV services over your chosen ISP to a Sky Stream box.

Edited by jchamier (Wed 20-Aug-25 19:59:50)

I hadn't appreciated that nexfibre was more separate from Virgin Media than I had originally thought. So the little green pillar boxes that have appeared around Maidenhead next to every old Virgin Media cabinet (but nowhere else) last year are probably connected to Project Mustang rather then nexfibre as I had originally assumed.

That probably answers my other query as to why they didn't bother to extend their area while they where at it to include the parts of Maidenhead that aren't covered by the old 90s coax network. Our property is in one of the few areas of the town that was never cabled up as they stopped half way up our road. Luckily we're covered by CityFibre now and soon Openreach FTTP so its not a big deal any longer.

Edited by timo_w2s (Thu 21-Aug-25 11:32:05)

Yes, nexfibre's CEO gave a talk recently and he kept mentioning they were building a wholesale/open network that VM were just the first customer ("anchor tenant"). Whereas VM have just halted their internal project to open the older areas to wholesale, apparently due to Telefonica reviewing their business. (50% owner).

It would have been an interesting effect if VM became wholesale as then the likes of Aquiss who are available over OR FTTP and CityFibre FTTP would be available over VM's coax/DOCSIS as well.

As someone who can only get the old DOCSIS coax services I would have likely switched ISP on the same infrastructure. No sign of any competition yet near me for high speed. (old style phone wire exists, but too slow).

Everything I've read lately suggests VM have given up their wholesale ambitions, and I'm sure it only ever applied to FTTP anyway. DOCSIS is dead as far as new products are concerned.

In reply to a post by jpm:

Everything I've read lately suggests VM have given up their wholesale ambitions, and I'm sure it only ever applied to FTTP anyway. DOCSIS is dead as far as new products are concerned.

The project was called "NetCo" and ISPreview has done a lot of articles on it, it was only a few weeks ago that it was stopped, apparently due to the financial pressures at Telefonica. Unfortunately Telefonica has a lot of business interests elsewhere that they seem to need to spend money on, in advance of the UK. This is deja vu as this is one reason why O2 was late to 5G and had poor services as Telefonica had no money.

For those that don't know, Telefonica is Spain's national telco. (eqivalent to BT in UK).

https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2025/08/telefo...

Edited by jchamier (Thu 21-Aug-25 16:22:59)

They seem to have a history of poor investment in the UK, O2 has a torrid 4G service as an example, so the news these plans got put on halt because of them was of little surprise to me.

In reply to a post by Chrysalis:

They seem to have a history of poor investment in the UK, O2 has a torrid 4G service as an example, so the news these plans got put on halt because of them was of little surprise to me.

If you look into Telefonica's ownerships they have a lot of assets around the globe, maybe they over extended. The O2 network in Germany ended up in partnership with Three, similar to O2/VM in the UK, and their Movistar networks in South America were all starved for cash.

It doesn't surprise me they have financial issues, shame they didn't just sell the rest of VM/O2 to Liberty Global.