Nexera, the first exclusively large-scale wholesale telecommunications carrier in Poland, developing a high-capacity fibre optical access network, has acquired its optical infrastructure from Symetra, it is a carrier from the Świętokrzyski Region. The transaction will enable the parties to jointly develop some key areas of activity. Nexera is to extend the reach of its broadband infrastructure and Symetra will focus on retail sales by offering services based on Nexera infrastructure.

On December 28, Nexera acquired a fibre-optic network located in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship - in Busko-Zdrój, Pińczów and some other neighbouring towns. As a result of the contract signed, the Nexera infrastructure has been extended by over 94 kilometres of the fibre-optic network, within the range of which almost 5,000 households are located. Importantly, existing subscribers will still be able to use telecommunications services that had been offered by Symetra.

• We are currently implementing a project of building a fibre optical access network under the Digital Poland Operational Program, which is important for Poland, but our ambitions go much further. We use our own financial resources to expand the network founded with public funds. In 2020, we completed three purchasing transactions of fibre optic FTTH networks providing access to a total of over 25,000 households. This confirms that innovative models of cooperation with the current owners of the networks acquired by us work well allowing to continue the cooperation with us as retail virtual network operators or completely shut down their current businesses. In 2020, we carried out transactions following both of these models, which puts us in a positive mood for 2021 activities. In the coming years, we plan to provide over a million households with access to the Nexera fibre network, and thus enable a wide selection of offers from our retail partners. We will strive to achieve this goal not only by building the network but also by acquiring and integrating the existing infrastructure. The acquisition of the network from Symetra is a confirmation of the consistent implementation of this strategy and a significant step bringing us closer to our goal - says Jacek Wiśniewski, President of the Management Board of Nexera.

The transaction was carried out following an innovative market model and is beneficial to both parties. Nexera has expanded the reach of its network infrastructure and Symetra will be able to focus on developing retail sales as its leading area of business.

Internet in the Świętokrzyski Region

According to the results of the #RegionyNexery2020 study, the use of the Internet in the Świętokrzyski Region is systematically increasing. Therefore, the expectations of the residents in terms of the speed and quality of the connection are also growing. As the Nexera survey shows, more than 63% of respondents from the Świętokrzyski Region are satisfied with the connection they have, but more than half (51%) of those who use the Internet at home consider increasing its speed. This is an increase by 22 pp. compared to 2019. Currently, 54% of the Region's inhabitants declare that there is optical fibre available in their location, and 46% of them use optical fibre connection.

Residents, companies and all institutions that are within the range of the Nexera network have the ability to access high-speed internet with a capacity of at least 100 Mb/s. Schools and educational units located within the Nexera network can use the broadband connection free of charge.

Methodological note:

The #RegionyNEXERY2020 report is the second edition of the #RegionyNEXERY proprietary study carried out by GfK for the NEXERA company. The survey was conducted among residents, teachers, officials and entrepreneurs from NEXERA Regions in March and April 2020. The publication is one of the most cross-sectional sources of knowledge about Polish internet users in areas where there is no or limited access to broadband internet. The report is divided into several thematic areas. The survey on everyday life (conducted among residents) was carried out using the CAWI (computer assisted web interview) internet interview technique. All respondents are internet users. Residents living in the area covered by the NEXERA network participated in the study. A total of 1,601 interviews were conducted. The # RegionyNEXERY2020 report also uses data from publicly available sources and the analysis of the InsightOut Lab team.

About NEXERA

Nexera is the first in Poland exclusively a wholesale telecommunications carrier operating at a large scale, developing a fibre-optic access network (NGA) with high capacity (at least 100 Mb/s). Nexera's shareholders are companies that have been operating on the global telecommunications market for years, e.g. Infracapital and Nokia.

On the basis of the Operational Program Digital Poland (POPC), Nexera is building a fibre-optic network in 14 areas of central and north-eastern Poland. The program aims to eliminate those places in the country that do not have access to high-speed internet and to counteract the digital exclusion of European Union citizens. Ultimately, the most modern fibre-optic network will cover over 1 million households and almost 3 thousand schools and educational facilities that will be included in the NEXERA network, thanks to funding under OP DP and as part of the implementation of own projects.

In 2019, Nexera initiated the proprietary #RegionyNEXERY2019 report, which is the result of a study conducted jointly with the GfK agency. The report is one of the most cross-sectional sources of knowledge about Polish internet users in areas where there is no broadband internet access or where this access is limited (#RegionyNEXERY report for download). The survey and the report will be carried out periodically.

The company won the "Innovator of the Year" title in the Golden Antenna competition organized as part of the 18th Teleinformatics and Infrastructure World Symposium. It also received an award for the Best Implementation of Cloud Services in the Best in Cloud 2019 competition, organized by the Computerworld Polska editorial team. Nexera also won the international competition Global Carrier Awards 2020 in the category of the best implementation of OSS/BSS systems, thus joining the group of the most respected telecommunications companies in the world that are passionately changing the telecommunications industry.