This blog is part of a series of techUK interviews platforming inspiring women in tech. The series aims to call out gender bias, expose industry barriers, and spotlight the importance of a diverse tech future.

Women make up almost 40% of the build and installations team at Vorboss, so they are undoubtedly an influential part of the company. Their successes highlight the possibilities that arise when telecoms companies create inclusive, gender-balanced workplaces.

This is an interview of Caprice and Acacia, two of our inspiring Vorboss installation technicians. They serve as fantastic examples of flourishing women in tech.

Women in tech: interview with installation technicians Caprice and Acacia

Were you always interested in the telecoms industry, or were you drawn in by Vorboss and the diversity they offer?

Caprice: I’d say both to be honest. I like doing jobs where I’m busy and get to use my brain. This job was perfect, as I liked that there were good opportunities for women, and it’s something that I’m genuinely interested in. Before I started, I didn’t even know what chambers were (the covers you see on pavements where fibre cables are stored). Now I’m able to tell my grandparents about what they are and what they’re for, which is cool.

Acacia: I think having diverse teams is incredibly important, as you get more variety of views and people have different ideas and experiences. There’s always been another woman on my team with me at Vorboss, which is nice.

When did you join Vorboss? Can you give us an insight into your day-to-day job?

Caprice: I started in September. I work Tuesdays to Fridays in the field. Sometimes we could be blowing fibre through a subduct, other days we could be rodding and roping a route. Every day is different; it’s never the same, but it’s always exciting, and I’m always happy to go to work.

As this was your first job in telecoms, was training available to you?

Caprice: There was lots of training. There were also lots of people on standby to support me if I needed anything. I joined the Vorboss Academy—an accredited in-house training programme—which was eight weeks long. Some of it was online training, but I also went to the warehouse training centre every day and learned things like how to safely lift chamber lids and how to splice.

Why do you think that there are more men working in this sector than women?

Acacia:  As it’s quite a physical job, traditionally people probably viewed it as more suited to men. Times have changed and women can now have a career in something that they feel suits them.

Do you feel Vorboss creates a supportive environment for women?

Caprice: Yes, definitely. For example, if there is a really heavy chamber lid, women can do it together. Women can work together on things like that. Also, they have made sure that the uniform fits for everyone. There is a uniform for women, but if women also want to wear the menswear to suit their personal preference, they can choose that also.

Acacia: We have support like period days. It’s a great help, especially as you can’t avoid having symptoms. We also have events such as women’s movie nights and women’s breakfasts where we all come together to talk about issues that we’re going through and how to make the workplace more inclusive for women. It definitely feels like a safe space to talk about things and helps to build a nice company culture.

Looking around at the people you work with, do you feel that it’s a diverse group?

Caprice: Yes, I would say so. In my team, there are actually more women than men. It’s nice to work with other women, and it feels more equal. I don’t feel belittled, and it shows that women can do a job which traditionally has been thought of as a man’s job. We get a lot of comments from pedestrians going past saying it’s nice to see women doing this job.

Acacia: It’s nice to see that a company in the industry is supporting women, and it’s inspirational for women working at Vorboss to see that they are trying to make a change. It shows that women of all ages can work as part of the installation teams, and it’s not just a role for men. Anyone can do it once they’re trained.

What sort of challenges have you faced in your role?

Acacia: There have been times where pedestrians walk past saying this isn’t a woman’s job. I don’t get that as much anymore. Vorboss is trying to encourage more women to work in the industry, and it’s becoming more normal. When things like that happen, we can go straight to our manager and are given support to make sure that we feel comfortable going to work every day. As Caprice said, there are also a lot more positive interactions with the public where we are recognised for having such a diverse team.

What’s your number one piece of advice for the future generations entering tech?

Acacia: Just go for it! If the opportunity comes up, take it with both hands and try to shine. You can learn so much!

Caprice: I’d say the same. Don’t let anything stop you or get in your way! You never know unless you try. Believe in yourself and don’t have self-doubt! Gender shouldn’t matter. There’s an opportunity for everyone.

Our people and culture team always puts equity, inclusion, and diversity first. If the Vorboss culture sounds right to you, head to our careers page to see our vacancies!

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As London's leading enterprise fibre network, we are delighted to announce a significant leadership change. John Browett, a highly experienced business leader with a career spanning almost 40 years in the retail and investment industries, joins as the new Vorboss Chair. He brings a wealth of experience and strategic vision to help drive our ambitious goals.

A new chapter for Vorboss

We are dedicated to revolutionising London's business connectivity, and as our Chair, John Browett will contribute to this vision. This move coincides with Paul Latham's retirement from his role as Chief Executive at Fern Trading Group. Browett's appointment marks a pivotal moment in our journey, signalling an era of growth and innovation.

John Browett

John Browett has held influential positions in both the retail and investment industries. His extensive resume includes notable roles at Apple Retail, Dixons Retail PLC, Dunelm, and Tesco.com. His expertise in launching new ventures and scaling established businesses makes him a perfect fit for Vorboss.

In addition to his new role at Vorboss, Browett serves on the board of Octopus Group Holdings, the parent company of Octopus Investments, which advises Fern Trading Group. His familiarity with the company and its objectives will benefit Vorboss as we expand our enterprise fibre network.

Our unique infrastructure

We have created a unique and robust infrastructure asset in London. With over 500 kilometres of fibre optic cable installed, we aim to connect all commercial properties in Central London with a minimum of 10Gbps,scaling up to 100Gbps. This extensive network, wholly owned by us, was launched in September 2022 after three years of intensive development.

We designed our network to have the speed and reliability to meet the demands of businesses in the Capital, fostering growth and innovation. Our commitment to providing cutting-edge technology is evident in our workforce, which includes graduates from the Vorboss Academy—the first in-house training facility dedicated to equipping the next generation with the necessary skills to support the ageing telecommunications sector.

Leadership to drive growth

Tim Creswick, CEO of Vorboss, expressed his enthusiasm about Browett's appointment:

"John joining us as Chair couldn't come at a better time to drive forward our ambitions. I'm proud of our growing business and moving the market into a world where end-users no longer think about bandwidth. John's depth of expertise and counsel will be invaluable as we start to scale."

Browett himself is excited about the future:

"Vorboss has made great strides in upending the fibre industry, and I can't wait to work with them to realise their vision of powering the Capital's most ambitious businesses. There is no other company out there doing this, and what the team has already achieved is remarkable, so it's hugely exciting to work closely with them at this pivotal moment in their journey."

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The combination of Browett's strategic vision and Vorboss' innovative infrastructure sets the stage for an exciting future in enterprise fibre. Stay tuned as we continue to transform the enterprise fibre landscape in London.

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Vorboss, London’s dedicated enterprise fibre network, has launched the city’s first off-the-shelf 100Gbps internet product to power London’s most ambitious businesses, spearheading a new standard for the telecommunications sector.

This industry-first product removes bandwidth constraints for London’s most data-hungry businesses, powering their growth and boosting London’s economy.  

Vorboss provides customers with 100Gbps for a market-leading price, guaranteed for the lifetime of the contract. Vorboss owns its network end-to-end and operates entirely in-house, removing the need for brokers, wholesalers and resellers who use confusing pricing structures. This means that, unlike other providers which often have hidden uplifts and charges in their contracts, they can work directly with customers to offer a simple, transparent and competitively priced product.

Unrivalled in quality, Vorboss has invested over £250 million to build London’s only full-coverage fibre network dedicated to businesses. The network now spans 900 km of fibre optic cables across London. The way that Vorboss has designed, built and maintained its network means that they have developed an efficient way to connect new customers to 100Gbps, while also ramping up existing connections to this service. Customers deal directly with the engineers that built the network, and can deliver installations and bandwidth upgrades within days, not months.

“Owning our product end-to-end means that we install and maintain the connection for our customers, ensuring rapid service, market-leading price points and the quickest fibre upgrades in the industry,”

says Rhod Morgan, Vorboss Co-CEO.

“We are completely committed to working in partnership with our customers by offering a simple, seamless and transparent solution to their connectivity needs.”

Right now, the majority of London businesses are reliant on legacy Openreach infrastructure, which is hampering growth. Over the last decade, the reliance on technology and the shift towards cloud-based infrastructure has increased dependency and bandwidth demands which other fibre network providers cannot support. Superior connectivity will secure London’s position on the global stage while unlocking significant asset value in its office buildings.

100Gbps will allow businesses and workspaces to handle higher traffic volume, greater upload and download speeds, and a smoother integration of AI across industries. Enhanced connectivity makes any building a more attractive place for companies to work, giving landlords a strong case for leasing. Due to its exceptional product offering and ability to connect buildings, rather than just tenants, Vorboss helped 22 Bishopsgate to secure WiredScore Platinum accreditation, the highest possible stamp of approval.

"Understanding the needs of London’s businesses means having an awareness that one size will not fit all. Our entry product of 10Gbps is the sensible offering for any business. While the rest of the industry is only now catching up with that need, we have been looking ahead and building capacity to support the most data-intensive customers. We are the first to market with 100Gbps. Our ambitions mirror that of the businesses we support,”

said Humza Bobat, Chief Networks Officer.

As we've seen yet another leadership change here in the UK and an emphasis on prioritising growth, we must recognise that world-class connectivity is critical for London’s global competitiveness. UK infrastructure lags far behind international competition, ranking fifth lowest in the EU for fibre connectivity.  If the UK is to compete on the world stage, we need to ensure the City’s infrastructure can keep up with that growth.

Bandwidth constraints mean that slow speeds and freezing video calls are all too common, and ultimately limit productivity, but why? Faster connectivity – 10Gbps and beyond – is possible right now. 10Gbps isn’t widely available because incumbent providers are looking to protect their margins, or because their network hasn’t been built with that capacity.

Currently, most London businesses are reliant on Openreach, meaning they are all essentially buying connectivity from the same infrastructure asset, even if they are purchasing through a reseller. These legacy structures have led to poor customer service, inflated, inconsistent pricing models and overly complex installation processes. This results in a product not fit for purpose.

All of this is hampering productivity and restricting the growth of our economy. We need superior digital infrastructure to ensure businesses are not held back by something as basic as their bandwidth.

Our network is dedicated to business users only. We do everything ourselves in-house. Operating in this way removes the need for the resellers that are a precondition for accessing Openreach infrastructure. We deliver 10 Gbps as the new minimum standard, and can quickly ramp a business up to 100Gbps business internet. For any other supplier to do this would require them to rewire their entire network from scratch.  

More needs to be done on an industry level to safeguard London from falling behind competitively. There are three actions which will unlock the potential of London’s businesses:

1. Connectivity has become an essential utility. In abundance, connectivity will enable growth and power the shift to London becoming a smart city. Companies must have access to a purpose-built fibre network, designed purely for businesses, without the distraction of catering for residential consumers.

2. Make 10 Gbps the mandatory minimum standard for business connections, so bandwidth should never be an issue. We will all come to expect it sooner rather than later. It should be the norm now.

3. Champion a new business model for telecoms built on great service, resilient networks and open, transparent contracts with customers.

For London to continue as a global leader, a hub of innovation attracting the best talent, and driving investment in our capital, businesses must be able to operate without limit. If we don’t get serious about removing bandwidth limitations, with the same focus that we look at removing other factors restricting business growth, we risk London falling further behind. It’s time for a step-change in the industry, and we’re proud to be at the forefront.  

By Tim Creswick,

Chief Executive and founder of Vorboss

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In our building better series, we sit down with some of our team members to reveal how we've built a very different type of commercial internet company.

Our CEO, Tim Creswick, is committed to bringing new people into the industry to reinvigorate and challenge the telecoms status quo.

Introducing Tim

Tim continues our building better series by discussing why training and development are so important to our success here at Vorboss. We work hard to ensure we have a diverse, engaged, and energetic workforce, and we're not afraid to take junior members of staff and train them up.

Looking ahead

We want Vorboss to be the best job our employees ever have. We talk to leaders in the organisation to ensure that topics including diversity, equality, and inclusion, development and training, and company values always remain at the top of the agenda as we scale.

Sound like a company you might like to join? We're hiring!

Lagging applications, grinding downloads, and outages are a thing of the past for London’s enterprises. Vorboss has built a brand-new business fibre network dedicated exclusively to enterprises in Central London—revolutionising the city’s critical fibre infrastructure.

What does this mean for you? You can upgrade your current internet connection to improve your business operations.

Unleashing your ambitions

‘Internet connectivity has become the single most important utility for most businesses. Our network is designed for one purpose: provide the capacity that London needs.’ Tim Creswick, Vorboss Founder and CEO

By providing 10Gbps as standard, an industry first, businesses can operate with effectively zero bandwidth constraints. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) typically resell legacy infrastructure, but Vorboss has a brand-new network of fibre optic cables. We own the process end-to-end and sell directly to our customers.

Internet that scales

You have probably noticed that your business is increasingly reliant on technology and shifting towards cloud-based infrastructure. Is your current ISP able to keep up with your exponentially rising bandwidth demands? Your growing dependence on internet connectivity puts you in a vulnerable position.

‘Many businesses remain at the mercy of restrictive telecommunications products and business models. These legacy networks are a limiting factor in critical technology decisions, which can restrict growth. Our network is unrivalled in both scale and quality, and our sole focus is enabling business growth.’

A new fibre network

Since 2020, we have put in more than 900 km of fibre optic cables in London. We are spending over £250 million to create a fibre network solely for commercial use. Businesses in Central London now have direct access to critical fibre infrastructure at a minimum of 10Gbps, up to 100Gbps.

This includes 22 Bishopsgate, Britain’s largest office building noted for its visionary approach to technology. Vorboss internet connectivity helped 22 Bishopsgate secure a WiredScore Platinum connectivity certificate, the highest possible stamp of approval.

Changing the status quo

Our approach to building the network is as disruptive as the network itself. We have created over 300 new jobs for Londoners in the last 18 months; for most, it is their first foray into telecoms. Much of this has been enabled by the 2019 change in regulation surrounding the use of existing duct infrastructure.

‘We’re proud to be in London and believe our team should reflect the diversity of our community. We knew this would only be possible if we attracted new people to this industry.’

Over the last 18 months, nearly 200 people have graduated from the Vorboss Academy, which is an accredited in-house programme designed to give people the skills to kickstart a career in the telecommunications industry.

We have the most diverse fibre optic installation team in the industry; nearly 40% of our field-based team are women, and we strive for gender balance across all job roles.

Internet connectivity in abundance

Our 10Gbps-standard fibre network has redefined London's business landscape, providing speed and capacity that eliminates bandwidth constraints. London’s economy, global standing, and legacy is intimately woven with its connectivity, so greater connectivity means a greater London for all.

Book a consultation to find out why businesses are switching to Vorboss.