When the landlord says no
Most landlords are happy to let a second provider in. Over the last five years we’ve come across buildings that blocked it roughly five times, so it’s rare. But when it happens, it tends to surface at exactly the wrong moment, after the lease is signed and the business is planning its connectivity.
The buildings in question have mostly been office parks, or owners who are protective of how their building looks. They’ve already let one fibre provider in, and they don’t want more holes drilled in the façade or dishes on the roof. We’re working through one of these now. The client wants fibre for both its main and backup links. The provider already in the building is fine, and we’re waiting to hear whether the landlord will let a second fibre provider install.
If the answer is no, the options narrow. We can ask the provider already in the building whether it can bring the second link in along a genuinely separate route. We can look at wireless, LTE or microwave, if the landlord allows them and the client is comfortable with that trade-off. We ask those questions on the client’s behalf, even when they haven’t thought to.
Permission takes longer than you’d think
How long approval takes depends on who you’re dealing with. If the owner runs the building directly, you’re speaking to the person who makes the decision, and the answer usually comes within two or three days. If a managing agent sits in between, they have to go back to the owner, and that can take anywhere from a few days to several months.
In the UK it’s often slower still. Getting a wayleave agreed can take anywhere from two weeks to seven months, especially in city centres, where buildings and streets are centuries old and the records of what lies underneath them are patchy at best.
The question to ask before you sign
If you’re about to take on new premises, ask the landlord one thing before you commit: are there any limits on connectivity in this building? Find out which fibre and wireless providers are allowed in, and whether the building has a preferred internet provider. A small number of buildings do, and you don’t want to discover that you’re locked to one provider or one route after you’ve moved in.
It’s a five-minute conversation during lease negotiations. It’s a much harder one months later, when you find out your backup line shares a cable with your main one.
