AboveNet Urges London’s Landlords to Meet the Needs of 21st Century Business Tenants

LONDON - Fibre Connectivity as Essential as Utilities in Winning Rent in 2009

2009 is set to continue to be a tough year for landlords in London, as businesses seek to decrease square-footage to reduce costs in the face of the recession. AboveNet, the fibre optic connectivity provider, is warning against the dangers of letting down ’21st century’ businesses by failing to provide tenants with the essential connectivity required to survive the downturn.

John Donaldson, managing director at AboveNet UK, believes landlords need to treat network connectivity in the same way as any other essential utility, to meet the needs of today’s businesses. “London needs to revamp its infrastructure in order to maintain its position as one of the world’s top cities,” he commented. “Too many buildings come with the basics of electricity, water and sanitation, but high-speed communication capacity is still an afterthought. Landlords need to get fibre on-premise and facilitate a generation of progressive businesses, who demand higher speeds of Internet capability, data backup and business continuity. Now is the time to rejuvenate tired office blocks and survive the recession.”

Many building projects elsewhere in the world pull more fibre than they are ever likely to need - potential latency issues are as much a part of the planning process as fire escapes and windows, according to analysts at The Broad Group[1]. This is not the case in London. A lack of understanding of the importance of fibre to businesses, especially in times like these, puts London at risk of being overtaken by more progressive, younger cities that are embracing the need for more robust and future-proof connectivity offerings.

“Development sites springing up around the Olympic halo present an opportunity to start getting this right,” Donaldson commented. “Likewise, retrofitting needs to become a watch-word for any landlord.”

AboveNet’s advice for tenants is to ensure that the fibre provider they want to work with has connections into the building. Otherwise, Donaldson warns, this could leave them facing hefty bills for installation, or even worse, having to rely on out-dated copper networks.

Donaldson commented, “As well as asking about rent or amenities, tenants should check out a building’s connectivity. Businesses make many assumptions and often get priorities wrong. A business is going to be in a lot more trouble without a robust high-speed Internet connection than if it’s not near a Starbucks!”

NOTES TO EDITORS

About AboveNet, Inc.

AboveNet, provides high bandwidth connectivity solutions for enterprise customers and carriers. Its private optical network delivers key network and IP services in and among 15 top U.S. metro markets and London. AboveNet’s network is widely used in demanding markets such as financial services and media.

UK Headquarters: Centurion House, 24 Monument Street, London, EC3R 8AJ

For more information, please visit: www.above.net

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[1] See the May 2008 report on dark fibre growth across Europe: www.broad-group.com/publications/dfe2.asp

For further press information, interviews and photography, please contact the team at LEWIS PR: Email: abovenet@lewispr.com Telephone: +44(0)20-7802-2626 Fax: +44(0)20-7802-2627

Source: AboveNet Inc.

For further press information, interviews and photography, please contact the team at LEWIS PR: Email: abovenet at lewispr.com, Telephone: +44(0)20-7802-2626, Fax: +44(0)20-7802-2627