G.Network says it is profitable again and will launch 10Gbps in September
G.Network, the London-only altnet that filed to appoint administrators in January, says it is making money again. Faster packages are coming too: 2.5Gbps and 10Gbps for homes, in September. The update came from chief executive David Sangster and was reported by ISPreview, which is so far the only outlet carrying it.
If you have ever hesitated over a broadband brand you had never heard of, this is the thing you were worried about, played forward. G.Network was bought by the distressed debt specialist FitzWalter Capital and came out of administration in March, debt free. Five months on, Sangster says the business is cashflow positive, that residential and business sales are up substantially, and that FitzWalter has agreed to put more money in. That is the company talking about itself, not an audited account anyone can read. It is still a better answer than this market usually manages.
The bill is the part with a number on it. Sangster told ISPreview that recent price increases have lifted average revenue per residential line by 30% in four months, to over £40. Read that carefully. It is an average across the whole customer base rather than a rise on any one bill, and G.Network is one of the networks we track that fixes your price for the contract term, so it is not describing a mid-contract hike. What it does tell you is the direction of travel. People who have run past their minimum term tend to feel that first, and our page on G.Network carries what we track on its pricing and contracts.
There is a connection charge as well, which ISPreview puts at £19 to £29. Add it to the headline price before you compare anything. Set-up fees have been creeping back all year, as BT, EE and Plusnet bringing theirs back showed at the end of July.
On the 10Gbps, expect the number on the advert to be smaller than the number in the announcement. ISPreview points out that G.Network’s fibre runs on XGS-PON, so after the usual overheads a package sold on a 10Gbps line is realistically promoted nearer 7 to 8Gbps. That is the technology rather than the provider. For almost any household it is academic anyway, and what speed you actually need is a shorter answer than most people expect.
The honest uncertainty here is ownership. FitzWalter tends to hold the businesses it rescues for the short term, and ISPreview’s read is that a tidied-up G.Network now looks a more attractive target for another altnet. A network that has changed hands once can change hands again. That is worth knowing rather than worrying about, and our guide on whether small providers are safe to switch to goes through what actually happens to your line when one is sold. To see who can reach your address, start with the availability checker.