Our story begins over a quarter of a century ago, in 1992.
Our purpose? To transform the way the world works through the power of connectivity.
We have a single vision: to become the most customer-oriented business in our industry. We built our reputation on putting customers first.
Our purpose and vision have influenced our history and shape our future. Scroll down to discover our story and how our connectivity pushes boundaries.
1992
Our story begins in 1992, when entrepreneur Jim Hynes founded City of London Telecommunications (COLT) - backed by Fidelity.
Within a year, our London network had grown to 15km.
1992
We soon had our first customer - the investment bank Robert Fleming
1999
In 1999, we launched our metro network service in Japan and opened our first office in Tokyo.
2000
Within a few years of the new millennium, we exceeded 15,000+ customers.
We had laid 20,000km of fibre, spreading across 13 countries.
2010
In 2010, we become Colt Technology Services, reflecting our established global presence.
2011
In 2011, we acquired Market Prizm, a trading infrastructure solution provider, now known as Colt Capital Markets, to solidify our financial services capability.
2014
In 2014, we expanded into Asia Pacific with the acquisition of KVH. We also passed the global threshold of 20 billion voice minutes served, and connected to 416 third party data centres.
2015
In 2015, we became fully owned by Fidelity International, solidifying us as one of the most financially stable businesses in our industry.
This also helped us reach 49 metropolitan area networks across 28 countries and over 24,000 on-net buildings.
2017
In 2017, our women's network - Network 25 - was founded, helping us break through traditional gender barriers and empower our diversity.
2019
In 2019, our network continued to expand in the US, and for the first time into Eastern Europe. We also launched our Pride Matters and YOUnited networks.
2020
In 2020, Keri Gilder became our first female CEO, we launched our Disability Accessibility Network (DAN) & beat our own record Net Promoter Score with 70!
Our story continues
From small beginnings 25 years ago, we are now an established global enterprise with:
210
cities connected
50
metro area networks
900+
data centres globally
29k+
buildings connected
52
offices globally
20+
languages spoken
10
I&D networks and policies
5000+
people and counting