The Story of PXC: 20 years in the making

In the nineties, telecoms was a very different industry. Strict regulations meant it was very difficult for new brands to grow in the UK. But that changed in 2003, with the Communications Act – directly aimed at encouraging challenger brands to bring something new to the telecoms market. As an almost direct result of this - TalkTalk was created, as a subsidiary of Carphone Warehouse.

TalkTalk was all about firsts - the first to allow customers to switch telephone providers without installing special equipment or having to dial a prefix, the first to launch unlimited free calls between TalkTalk customers in 2004, and the first to launch free broadband in 2006. TalkTalk acted as a true-blue challenger brand, determined to disrupt the established telecoms market.

Around the same time, another big idea was brewing stateside. Tom O'Hagan, then running Telstra's US channel business in New York, left his position and moved back to the UK driven by a clear vision. He returned to the UK, sold his house for start-up capital, and started Virtual1 from a rented flat in 2007. For 18 months, he ran a one-man business, until the need for an administrator and a salesperson eventually arose. As Virtual1 grew, the team moved from Tom's kitchen to a small London office. Fuelled by continuous reinvestment, Virtual1 grew to be a game-changer, launching 1Portal and 1Cloud in the early 2010s, creating a revolutionary software-defined networking platform as yet unseen in wholesale telecoms.

Over the next decade, TalkTalk and Virtual1 grew in leaps and bounds – both sharing a disruptive spirit but operating separately.

Fast forward to 2022, and TalkTalk acquired Virtual1, making Tom O’Hagan the Managing Director of its business wholesale arm, TalkTalk Wholesale Services. A year later, TalkTalk Group announced that it would demerge into three standalone companies. Tom then became the CEO of what would become PXC.

And so, on March 1, 2024, PXC was launched, created from the combination of Virtual1 and TalkTalk’s wholesale services and national network business. A brand that was born out of a desire to disrupt, innovate, and serve the wholesale market. A brand built over 20 years, spent understanding the ins and outs of the world of telecoms. And a brand determined to offer the support that partners need to thrive.

We’ve come a long way. But our story is just beginning.