Colt has announced a plan to launch high-bandwidth services in Hong Kong by July 2017 to meet rapidly rising demand for bandwidth, particularly from Hong Kong-based companies in the financial sector, and demand linked to fintech, Internet of Things (IoT), and big data.

Comprising both fiber optic and Ethernet networks, the Hong Kong expansion will provide connectivity to 80 percent of Hong Kong’s commercial buildings, including full commercial coverage in Hong Kong Island, East Kowloon and West Kowloon central business districts.

hong kong skyline lights thinkstock photos lovestock
– Thinkstock / lovestock

Software defined

The company’s Colt IQ Network is a 100Gbps network that is optimized with software defined network capabilities, and currently spans 28 countries and 49 metro area networks including Tokyo, Sydney and Singapore in the region.

“Many companies are looking to transform their digital infrastructure in the face of growing demand for bandwidth and connectivity requirements,” said Kenji Hioki, the COO and regional executive at Colt Asia.

“Colt’s high-bandwidth services are designed to meet the ever-growing demand from enterprises for fast, secure and reliable direct connectivity to markets around the world. The launch in Hong Kong enables the region’s businesses to power their competitiveness and growth while future-proofing their connectivity needs.”

Once known as KVH, Colt Asia was acquired by Colt Group SA in 2015 as part of its strategy to enter the APAC ICT services market, in a deal worth ¥18.6 billion (€130m, $150m) that gave the latter access to KVH’s extensive fiber optic networks, data centers in Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Korea.

While it had previously announced an expansion of its metro area networks in both Singapore and Hong Kong this year, the latest announcement pegs a date to the launch in Hong Kong, and also outlines the areas that the network will serve.