Rural Fibre Co
Rural Fibre Co is a wholesale fibre infrastructure operator in regional Gippsland, Victoria, building XGS-PON networks delivering up to 10 Gbps symmetric and selling wholesale access to retail ISPs, businesses and carriers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2025
- HeadquartersMorwell, Australia
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Rural Fibre Co does
Rural Fibre Co Pty Ltd is a privately held wholesale fibre infrastructure operator that builds and operates end-to-end full-fibre broadband networks across regional Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. Founded on 17 January 2025 by Phillip Britt, co-founder and former Managing Director of Aussie Broadband, the company deploys ducted and pitted single-mode fibre built to telco standards and runs an XGS-PON access architecture anchored on Nokia Lightspan MF-2 optical line terminals, delivering symmetric multi-gigabit services — up to 2,500 Mbps to residential premises and up to 10 Gbps to business premises — over weather-resistant underground infrastructure. The company holds an Australian carrier licence granted by ACMA and is registered as a Pty Ltd domiciled in Morwell, Gippsland.
Rural Fibre Co is a wholesale-only operator: it does not bill end users directly. Instead, retail service providers purchase wholesale access to the network and provide plans, billing and first-line support to consumers. Splice Internet, also founded by Phillip Britt, is the primary retail partner serving Hazelwood North, while Swoop is the retail partner for the Churchill network area. Beyond wholesale access, the company sells custom fibre builds, dark fibre leases and 10–20 year IRU contracts to carriers, enterprise, government and utilities, and offers civil subcontracting (trenching, directional drilling, conduit installation, fibre hauling and splicing) to builders, developers and contractors when capacity allows. End customers are segmented into residential households (primary), local Gippsland businesses (primary), retail service providers (primary), property developers (secondary) and carriers/enterprise/government/utilities (secondary).
The first operational network in Hazelwood North launched in December 2025, with 200+ residential customers and over 50% household penetration as of mid-2026. Traralgon West entered rollout in March 2026 and Churchill is being completed in partnership with Swoop from June 2026, with 16+ towns identified on the longer-term map. The company is funded by a single A$10M founder commitment over 4 years, is described by its founder as a community-orientated pursuit that may not become profitable, and has no disclosed institutional investors, external debt or revenue figures. The team is small (11–50 employees), locally hired across construction, drilling, civil works and home installation, with all operations based in Gippsland.
Rural Fibre Co firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Rural Fibre Co
- Legal name
- Rural Fibre Co Pty Ltd
- Website
- https://ruralfibre.co
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2025
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Rural Fibre Co is a wholesale fibre infrastructure operator in regional Gippsland, Victoria, building XGS-PON networks delivering up to 10 Gbps symmetric and selling wholesale access to retail ISPs, businesses and carriers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Rural Fibre Co industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Fibre Broadband Infrastructure
- NAICS
- Wired Telecommunications Carriers (517111)
- SIC
- Water, Sewer, Pipeline, Comm & Power Line Construction (1623)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Open-Access Fiber Network Operators (Wholesale-Only) (HDAIACAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Rural Broadband & Cooperative Fiber Operators (HDAIACAG), Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) Operators (HDAIACAB), Wholesale Wavelength, Spectrum & Dark Fiber Providers (IRU/Leases) (HDAIALAI)
Keywords
Where Rural Fibre Co is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Morwell
- HQ country
- Australia
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices4 records
Markets served
Rural Fibre Co business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Infrastructure, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Wholesale Network Access: Rural Fibre Co operates as a wholesale infrastructure provider, selling access to its fibre network to retail service providers (RSPs). Retailers handle customer relationships, billing, support, and create competitive retail plans. This is the primary revenue stream as the company builds and operates the physical fibre infrastructure.
- Custom & Dark Fibre Solutions: Revenue from custom fibre builds, dark fibre leases, and IRU (Indefeasible Rights of Use) arrangements with carriers, enterprise, government, and utilities. Flexible commercial terms from monthly to multi-year (10-20 year) IRU contracts.
- Civil Subcontracting: The company's civil crews, plant and directional drilling teams are available to builders, developers and contractors as a subcontractor when capacity allows. Competitive local rates for trenching, boring, conduit installation, and fibre hauling and splicing.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Residential plans up to 2500 Mbps symmetric through Splice Internet |
| Subscription | Monthly | Business symmetric plans from 250 Mbps to 10 Gbps |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Rural Fibre Co product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Rural Fibre Co builds, owns, and operates wholesale full-fibre broadband networks in under-served rural and regional communities of Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. The company sells wholesale network access to retail service providers such as Splice Internet and Swoop, which deliver residential and business internet plans to end customers. It also provides custom fibre builds, dark fibre, and IRU arrangements directly to carriers, enterprise, government, and utilities, and offers civil subcontracting services when capacity allows.
Product overview
Rural Fibre Co is a wholesale fibre infrastructure operator offering a unified network portfolio focused on regional Gippsland. The core offering consists of Residential Fibre for homes and Business Fibre for commercial premises, both delivered over the company's owned fibre network. Supporting these are Wholesale Network Access for retail partners, New Developments for estate connectivity, Custom & Dark Fibre for dedicated enterprise solutions, and Civil Subcontracting services. The portfolio is tied together through retail partnerships (including Splice Internet and Swoop) that provide billing, support, and service plans to end customers.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Splice Internet: Certified retail partner of Rural Fibre Co that provides residential and business fibre plans, billing, and customer support to end users on the RFC wholesale network.
Products and services
- Residential Fibre Full-fibre internet connectivity for homes in regional Gippsland, delivering symmetric speeds up to 2,500 Mbps. Delivered to end customers through retail partner Splice Internet, which handles sign-ups, billing, and support. Includes secure Nokia router and free in-home connection for customers who sign up within the first six months of network availability at their address.
- Business Fibre Symmetric fibre connectivity for businesses in regional Gippsland with speeds up to 10 Gbps, available in tiers of 250 Mbps, 500 Mbps, 1 Gbps, 2 Gbps, 5 Gbps, and 10 Gbps. Sized to team and applications with business-grade support and SLA delivered through retail partner. Supports simultaneous use of cloud apps, video calls, EFTPOS, IoT, and backups.
- Wholesale Network Access Wholesale access to Rural Fibre Co's owned full-fibre network across Gippsland for Retail Service Providers to deliver services to homes and businesses. RSPs handle customer relationships, plans, pricing, billing, and first-line support while RFC provides the underlying fibre infrastructure and 24/7 network monitoring.
- New Developments Fibre Connectivity Fibre connectivity solutions for new residential estates and commercial developments in regional Gippsland, delivered in partnership with property developers from planning through to connection. Designed to make lots more appealing to buyers with reliable high-speed internet from day one.
- Custom & Dark Fibre Solutions Build-to-suit fibre routes designed around customer endpoints, dark fibre leases with dedicated single-mode strands, point-to-point connections, on-net extensions, and Indefeasible Rights of Use (IRU) arrangements. Flexible commercial terms from monthly to multi-year (10 to 20 year) IRU contracts. Handles survey, design, civil works, and splicing end to end. No contention, no oversubscription, and no traffic visibility from the provider in dark fibre mode.
- Civil Subcontracting Civil construction services including horizontal directional drilling, non-destructive digging, fibre hauling and splicing, and chain trenching for builders, developers, and contractors in Gippsland. Available at competitive local rates when RFC crew capacity allows beyond the core network build.
Quantifiable outcome
- Customers see speeds up to 15 times faster than previous connections
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Rural Fibre Co
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Rural Fibre Co technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature8 records
Rural Fibre Co partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- SwoopcoreRetail service provider partnered for the Churchill network area. Rural Fibre Co is working with Swoop to complete and operate Swoop's existing fibre broadband network build in Churchill. Swoop provides retail services to Churchill customers on the RFC-operated network.
- Splice InternetcoreCertified retail partner offering residential and business fibre plans on the RFC network. Owned by the same founder (Phillip Britt). Handles customer sign-ups, account management, billing, payment processing, first-line technical support, and creates competitive retail plans. Currently the primary retail partner serving Hazelwood North customers.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Rural Fibre Co competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Aussie Broadband: Australia's fifth-largest ISP, co-founded by RFC's founder Phillip Britt. While a national retail and wholesale operator rather than a rural pure-play, it is the most direct strategic and operational analogue given the founder pedigree, regional focus, and overlapping customer base in Gippsland.
- NBN Co: Australia's national wholesale broadband infrastructure provider. RFC's wholesale-only model and XGS-PON technology stack directly compete with NBN's FTTP upgrades in regional areas; the two business models (open-access wholesale, fibre access) are highly comparable.
- Superloop: ASX-listed provider of fibre, fixed wireless and wholesale connectivity across Australia and Asia. Operates wholesale dark fibre and connects regional RSPs, overlapping directly with RFC's wholesale and dark fibre services for enterprise and carrier customers.
- Telstra: Australia's largest telecommunications incumbent operating fixed-line, mobile, and a growing FTTP footprint. A broad incumbent competitor whose regional infrastructure build-outs and enterprise fibre services overlap with RFC's addressable market across Gippsland and rural Victoria.
Emerging players
- Starlink (SpaceX): Satellite-based broadband service explicitly benchmarked against RFC on the company's own website as an alternative for rural customers. A different technology but the same customer segment and a meaningful substitution threat in unserved rural premises.
Direct peers
- LBNCo: Open-access wholesale fibre network operator in Australia focused on greenfield developments and select regional deployments. Operates a very similar wholesale-only model selling to retail ISPs, directly comparable to RFC's core GTM motion.
- Swoop Holdings: Australian fixed-wireless and fibre infrastructure provider with regional coverage and an RSP partner model. Currently both a retail partner to RFC (for Churchill) and an operator of similar regional fibre networks, making it a direct peer in business model and customer overlap.
- Field Solutions Group: ASX-listed owner and operator of regional and rural telecommunications networks in Australia, focused on connecting under-served towns with fibre and fixed wireless. Closest regional pure-play peer to RFC's rural Gippsland fibre build-out strategy.
- Opticomm: Australian wholesale open-access fibre network operator serving new developments and regional areas. Closest pure-play analogue to RFC: similar wholesale-only model, FTTH focus, and RSP partner model across regional and greenfield sites.
Regional players
- Spirit Telecom: Australian provider of business-grade fibre, fixed wireless and dark fibre, with regional and metro presence. Comparable to RFC on the business fibre and dark fibre service lines, though with broader geographic reach.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Rural Fibre Co social profiles
Digital presenceRural Fibre Co financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Rural Fibre Co leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Rural Fibre Co funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Rural Fibre Co M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Rural Fibre Co
What does Rural Fibre Co do?
Rural Fibre Co builds, owns, and operates wholesale full-fibre broadband networks in under-served rural and regional communities of Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. The company sells wholesale network access to retail service providers such as Splice Internet and Swoop, which deliver residential and business internet plans to end customers. It also provides custom fibre builds, dark fibre, and IRU arrangements directly to carriers, enterprise, government, and utilities, and offers civil subcontracting services when capacity allows.
Is Rural Fibre Co a public or private company?
Rural Fibre Co is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Rural Fibre Co founded?
Rural Fibre Co was founded in 2025. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Rural Fibre Co based?
Rural Fibre Co is headquartered in Morwell, Australia, in the Oceania region.
How does Rural Fibre Co make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Wholesale Network Access are the primary driver. The others are custom & Dark Fibre Solutions and civil Subcontracting.
Who are Rural Fibre Co's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Aussie Broadband, NBN Co, Superloop and Telstra. Starlink (SpaceX) is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are LBNCo, Swoop Holdings, Field Solutions Group and Opticomm. Spirit Telecom is listed as a regional player.
Does Rural Fibre Co have an API?
No public API is recorded for Rural Fibre Co.
What industry is Rural Fibre Co in?
Rural Fibre Co's product category is Fibre Broadband Infrastructure. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAIACAF, Open-Access Fiber Network Operators (Wholesale-Only), with a secondary code of HDAIACAG, Rural Broadband & Cooperative Fiber Operators. Its NAICS code is 517111 and its SIC code is 1623.