Our story begins thirty years ago.
And it's still being written. Our vision is to be the digital infrastructure company that the world's leading businesses choose to connect with. Our purpose is to put the power of the digital universe in the hands of our customers, wherever, whenever and however they want by bringing together amazing people, intelligent networks and like-minded partners on a global scale.
We’re Colt, the global digital infrastructure company, scroll down to discover our story and how we deliver extraordinary connections with genuine care.
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.
1996
In 1996, we expanded to Europe - operating in Germany and France. Two areas we continue to expand in to this day.
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.
2008
In 2008, we began to make roots in the US: starting with metro presence in New York, Newark & Boston.
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.
2012
In 2012, we rode from London to Paris in our first charity bike ride. We now ride every year and have raised over €1m+ to date.
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 Investments and Eight Roads, 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 (now Women+@Colt) - 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 the industry's first woman CEO, we launched our Disability Accessibility Network (DAN) and beat our own record Net Promoter Score with 70!
2022
In Colt’s 30th year, the Environmental & Social Governance team published the company’s first Sustainability Report, aligning ourselves to the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTI) and committing to helping our customers become carbon neutral by 2050.
We were also named a Stonewall Top Global Employer for 2022, an award which recognises the best multinational employers for the LGBTQ+ community.
Our Net Promotor Score (NPS) continues to set the industry standard, scoring 73 in Europe.
2023
Colt Technology Services (Colt) completed the purchase of Lumen’s Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) business in November, 2023. We welcomed new employees, customers and partners, and extended our global reach and capability.
