Network Operator Vorboss Offers 100 Gigabit Connectivity – But Only In Central London

Network operator Vorboss is offering London businesses a 100Gbit/sec service with a fixed monthly price set for the length of the contract, claiming it removes bandwidth constraints for the city's most data-hungry firms.

Vorboss unveiled its network covering central London in September, claiming it had installed over 500km of fiber optic cabling and was committed to coverage of all commercial buildings in the central London area, with 10Gbit/sec as the minimum service on offer.

The service has launched commercially, at a price tag of £2,999 ($3,540) a month – which Vorboss said was guaranteed for the lifetime of the contract and would entail no installation fees.

The company claims it can offer this because it owns its network end-to-end, removing the need for resellers or other intermediaries, and it can offer pricing direct to businesses with no hidden charges.

Vorboss founder and CEO Tim Creswick didn't hold back from bold statements, either: "No other provider is prepared to publish a price for 100Gbit/sec – if they're even able to provide it."

Creswick told us: "We are open and transparent in how we do business and provide a guaranteed price for the duration of the contract (12 months, then monthly rolling), as it's the right thing to do."

We look forward to customer reviews.

Although only officially commercially available now, Vorboss already has one pilot deployment of the 100Gbit/sec service with customer 22 Bishopsgate – a 62-floor commercial property near Leadenhall in the middle of the City. This connection was installed as the building was being constructed.

Organizations have a requirement for 100Gbit/sec connectivity because reliance on technology and the shift towards cloud-based infrastructure has increased dependency and bandwidth demand over the last decade, Vorboss said. The majority of London businesses are reliant on legacy Openreach infrastructure, the company claimed, and this is hampering growth.

Paolo Pescatore, founder and telecoms analyst at PP Foresight, told us that Vorboss is making "bold, eyecatching claims," which must "live up to expectations."

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He added that one question mark over the need for bandwidth at central London sites is the impact that the move to hybrid working will have on connectivity demands from businesses.

"For sure, more speed and a bigger pipe provides scope for more capacity and a robust connection, and these are highly sought after among businesses," he said.

Vorboss does not apparently have any plans to offer its services outside of the lucrative central London zone with its large number of commercial properties – especially financial services customers.

"We believe focusing on the City is right because no one else sells full coverage fiber directly to businesses in central London at a minimum of 10Gbit/sec," Creswick told The Reg. "Many try to do business and fiber to the home on the same network, and thus end up specializing in neither."

Jan Hein Bakkers, senior research director for IDC's European Infrastructure and Telecoms, told us:

He added: "The ones that do will typically have much more selection criteria than just bandwidth and price. They would take a broader look at performance (including things like availability, latency, redundancy, SLAs), and also consider aspects like coverage, track record, service capabilities, and their existing supplier relationships." ®