7 will lay its own leased lines to its customers. In view of the costs, 7 is targeting medium and large corporate customers, instead of the SME sector.
Karl Roe, CEO of 7, told Silicon.com, “No one can offer a [service level agreement] on the internet . At the present level of performance it just isn’t possible. It is absolutely key for corporate users to have reliability on performance and when the internet is ready to deliver [a service level agreement] we will use it, but we can’t do it today.”
John Salmon of OUT-LAW.COM said:
“Service level agreements are standard contracts when businesses deal with ASPs, ISPs, virtual ISPs or with hosting arrangements. Given the unreliable nature of the internet, no service provider will want to guarantee absolute levels of up-time as they may find themselves with significant liabilities.
“The common approach is to agree a service level where the allowable down-time only includes that which is within the control of the service provider. So if the problem is caused by the unreliability of the internet then the service provider will not be held accountable. However, it is often a contentious negotiating point. What 7 appears to be doing is taking a commercial approach to exploit a widely-acknowledged problem.”