EVENT
Partner Connect 2026:
Four takeaways for
partners
On 7 July, Virgin Media Business Wholesale hosted Partner
Connect 2026 at the Honourable Artillery Company in London,
bringing together partners, customers and industry voices for an
afternoon focused on one big theme: Partnerships at Scale.The
day covered a lot of ground, from the future of wholesale and
XGS-PON to AI-era infrastructure demand and leadership
under pressure. But if there were four big takeaways for partners,they
were these:
1. Scale only matters if it helps partners win
Opening the event, our Executive Director of Fixed Wholesale,
Diego Tedesco, set out an ambitious view of where the market is
heading and the role Virgin Media Business Wholesale wants to
play in it. His message was clear: in a market defined by rising
competition and rising expectations, the industry needs a true
challenger with the scale, capability and commitment to raise
the bar.
That ambition centres around three fundamentals that remain
constant in a demanding market: product capability at scale,
service and experience excellence and trusted partnerships.
Diego also pointed to the momentum building behind our next
chapter, including our B2B2C wholesale ambition: where we’re
building a clearer, easier and more scalable route into
next-generation full-fibre capability that combines automation
and partner experience in a way the market increasingly needs.
That set the tone for the day: stronger competition, greater
capability and better partner outcomes all depend on how well
those things come together in practice.
2. Partner trust is built through action, not promises
One of the strongest threads running through Partner Connect
2026 was trust.Stacey Ellwood’s service strategy session,
followed by a partner panel with Arqiva, Elevate and Gamma,
brought that to life in practical terms. The discussion focused on transparency, consistency, accountability and the importance of
acting on feedback – not simply collecting it.
It was a useful reminder that the
best partnerships are not defined
by good intentions. They’re
defined by what happens when
challenges appear, how openly
people communicate and whether
action follows words.
3. AI is changing the infrastructure conversation
Will Rhodes from our technology partner Ciena widened the lens
with a keynote on AI and connectivity, showing how the next
wave of AI opportunity will depend not just on compute, but on
networks that can connect enterprises to new infrastructure with
the right speed, scale and latency.
This was a talk that made AI tangible for our partners. Will made
a great case for where new infrastructure opportunities are
emerging and how the channel can help customers navigate that
shift. The key lesson is this: as compute moves into new locations
and digital demands keep rising, the role of trusted connectivity
partners will only grow.
4. Getting XGS-PON right matters
The XGS-PON update was one of
the most anticipated sessions of
the day, and it gave partners a
clear sense of both progress and
intent.
The team talked openly about the
work underway to build the digital
journeys, automation, APIs and
operational processes needed to
make Ethernet over FTTP work
properly at scale. The emphasis
was on refining the proposition
through the Early Adopter Phase
and using partner feedback to
strengthen the experience.
The opportunity is real, but
delivering it well means getting
the systems, journeys and partner
experience right from the outset.
Watch this space for a more
comprehensive launch
announcement later
this year.
A final word on leadership
Guest speaker Mandy Hickson, former RAF fast jet pilot, brought
a different but highly relevant perspective to the day.
Her stories about teamwork, challenge, trust and
decision-making under pressure struck a chord because they
echoed many of the themes already discussed across the event.
High-performing teams do not succeed because everything is
easy. They succeed because people trust each other, speak up,
stay prepared and work together with shared purpose.
It was a fitting way to round off a day built around the idea that
long-term success comes not just from capability, but from how
people come together around it.
Looking ahead
If Partner Connect 2026 made one
thing clear, it’s that wholesale is
entering an important new phase.
The market is moving fast.
Expectations are rising. New
infrastructure opportunities are
emerging. But the fundamentals
still matter: capability, service and
trusted partnership.
Thank you to everyone who joined us. We look forward to
building on the conversations from the day and continuing to
work together on what comes next.
Watch the highlights
Check out our Partner Connect 2026 highlights reel,
and hear from some of our team and attendees.
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What our partners say
We asked you what your
biggest takeaways were
from Partner Connect.
Here’s what you told us
Level of engagement
from VM staff is
excellent.
As a technology supplier
to VMB it was great to
see both the strategy
and structure that has
developed over the past
12 months, which will
support the growth of
both of our businesses.
Understanding how
important partners are
to VMB and the
strategies in place to
improve that.
Touched on all the right
areas of product,
scalability and service.
But most of all there’s a
desire to build lasting
relationships.
Meeting the team and a
joint desire to move the
relationship forward.
It was good to have
people from the various
departments available
to speak to whilst at
the event.
The venue was superb
and it was great to re
engage with all the VMB
team as well as the
leadership team.
I thought the keynote
speaker was first class.
Virgin values their
partners and wants to
continue improving
relationships.
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