EXA Infrastructure
Network connecting Europe and North America
EXA Infrastructure
IndustryDigital infrastructure
Founded2021
HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
Key people
Jim Fagan (CEO), Nick Read (Chairman)
Websiteexainfra.net

EXA Infrastructure is a digital infrastructure platform and cable network connecting Europe and North America owning over 166,000 km of fibre network in 37 countries.[1][2][3][4] It owns and manages extensive terrestrial and subsea fiber networks, including EXA Express, Dunant, Havfrue, and Amitie.[5] It was established in the 2000s as part of joint projects by Hibernia Networks, Interoute and KPN.[6][7]

History

In 2000, the building of the network started both in Europe and across the Atlantic. It was followed by the opening of BARI Cable Landing Station for OTE in 2003.[8]

In 2004, EXA acquired the CECOM Network in the Czech Republic.[9] In 2005, the network was expanded in the US and EU. In 2006, the network extended to Halifax, Boston, New York, Chicago, and Montreal.[10] In 2007, EXA's network was expanded with the addition of Warsaw and the installation of a subsea cable from Malta to Sicily in 2008. In 2009, the network was built in Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria.[11] The project Kelvin, expanding the network in Northern Ireland, followed in 2010, along with the building to Istanbul.[12] In 2011, EXA's network was expanded with a subsea cable landing from Tunisia to Sicily.[13] The following year, the Bezeq submarine cable was landed in Bari.[14] In 2015, EXA Infrastructure introduced EXA Infrastructure Express with the lowest latency connection between the UK and the US.[15]

In 2018, Sofia-Belgrade-Budapest was built, and in 2019, KPN was acquired, expanding routes in the UK and Netherlands.[14] On September 17, 2021, EXA was established in London by I Squared Capital.[16] The company emerged from the infrastructure assets carved out from GTT (Interoute/Hibernia) which had been developed since the 2000s.[17][18][19]

In 2022, EXA Infrastructure extended its subsea and terrestrial fiber/duct infrastructure across Italy, Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, Turkey, France, Spain, and Portugal.[20][21][22] In 2023, EXA Infrastructure added three new transatlantic cables to its network, named Dunant, Havfrue, and Amitie.[5][23][24]

In 2024, Exa Infrastructure agreed with Telecom Egypt to extend its network from Europe to Egypt.[25] To strengthen its European and transatlantic footprint, EXA Infrastructure has made key acquisitions and launched new services in 2024:

The acquisition of GCN enhanced EXA’s European terrestrial network in Bulgaria.[26]

The launch of EXA Financial Network (EFN) introduced a specialized infrastructure platform designed for financial exchanges, providing ultra-low-latency connectivity across North America and Europe.[27]

The Managed Fibre Network (MFN) service allows enterprises to scale quickly with a fully managed fiber model, reducing the complexities of network ownership.[28]

In 2025, EXA Infrastructure expanded its European network through several strategic projects and investments. In February, the company was selected by IOEMA as the UK landing partner for a new subsea cable system in Leiston, Suffolk, providing landing facilities and backhaul links to major London data centres.[29]

In March 2025, EXA partnered with Ultranet to build a new 175-kilometre fibre route between Genoa and Milan, enhancing network resilience and diversity in northern Italy.[30]

By mid-2025, EXA completed a 1,200-kilometre high-capacity fibre route connecting London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Brussels, including subsea segments optimised for low latency.[31]

In September 2025, the company announced Project Visegrád, one of Central Europe’s largest cross-border fibre-backbone builds in decades, linking Poland, Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary to EXA’s German and Austrian backbone.[32]

In October 2025, EXA finalised a €1.3 billion refinancing to support long-term network expansion, and completed a major upgrade to the Paris–Marseille corridor by introducing a geographically diverse Paris–Dijon–Marseille route.[33][34] Later that month, EXA agreed to acquire long-haul duct infrastructure from Conexio doo Beograd, expanding its footprint in the Balkans.[35]

Activities

EXA Infrastructure operates primarily in Europe, trans-Atlantic, and East Coast North America, focusing on infrastructure, transport, colocation, and technical services.[36][22] Jim Fagan is the CEO since August 2024,[18][37] and Nick Read (former Vodafone CEO) is chair of EXA's board of directors.[38][19]  

References

  1. ^ "Our Network". EXA Infrastructure. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  2. ^ "Network stats". Connect Online. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  3. ^ "EXA Infrastructure". datacentremagazine.com. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  4. ^ "Exa Infrastructure announces new transatlantic cable route". Capacity Media. 2023-10-19. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  5. ^ a b "EXA Infrastructure announces sixth transatlantic route with addition of Amitié". Intelligent CIO Europe. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  6. ^ "Exa confirms network expansion plans from England to Turkey". Capacity Media. 2022-09-21. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  7. ^ "Out of chapter 11 GTT 2.0 names board". Capacity Media. 2022-04-07. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  8. ^ "Interoute". www.scritub.com. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  9. ^ "Interoute Buys Cecom". lightreading. 2004-05-20.
  10. ^ "History of the Atlantic Cable & Submarine Telegraphy - Cable Timeline". atlantic-cable.com. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  11. ^ Gilguy, Christine (2009-12-17). "Tunisie: création d'un câble sous-marin pour les télécommunications". Le Moci (in French). Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  12. ^ "Telecompaper". www.telecompaper.com. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  13. ^ kcl@rk (2009-12-15). "New subsea cable brings digital independence to Tunisia". SubTel Forum. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  14. ^ a b "Exa Infrastructure and Hurricane Electric partner on global Internet connectivity". Capacity Media. 2023-11-21. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  15. ^ "EXA Infrastructure launches new hybrid route linking New York and London | Fibre Systems". www.fibre-systems.com. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  16. ^ "nLighten acquires 7 data centres from Exa Infrastructure". Capacity Media. 2024-04-04. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  17. ^ Swinhoe, Dan (2024-04-04). "nLighten acquires seven data centers from Exa Infrastructure". datacenterdynamics.
  18. ^ a b Butler, Georgia (2024-02-21). "Exa Infrastructure poaches Aqua Comms CEO". datacenterdynamics.
  19. ^ a b Turner, Annie (2023-07-03). "Read rides again with EXA Infrastructure". Mobile Europe. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  20. ^ "EXA announces investment in Iberian Peninsula | Total Telecom". totaltele.com. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  21. ^ "Exa Infrastructure boosts Crete's network with new submarine route | Fibre Systems". www.fibre-systems.com. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  22. ^ a b Lipscombe, Paul (2024-02-28). "Exa Infrastructure to deploy hybrid route between New York and London". datacenterdynamics.
  23. ^ "Exa launches sixth transatlantic cable, teams with NJFX". Capacity Media. 2024-01-22. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  24. ^ Turner, Annie (2024-01-22). "EXA Infrastructure announces sixth transatlantic route, Amitié". Mobile Europe. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  25. ^ "TE signs agreement with EXA Infrastructure to boost international data movement via 'WeConnect' - Dailynewsegypt". 2024-03-20. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  26. ^ "GCN". Optical Connections News. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  27. ^ "EFN". Fintech Alliance. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  28. ^ "MFN". Computer Weekly. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  29. ^ "EXA Infrastructure picked for UK submarine cable landing". Telecoms.com. Retrieved 2025-02-18.
  30. ^ "Exa to connect Italy's data hubs with new Ultranet fibre route". Capacity Media. Retrieved 17 March 2025.
  31. ^ "EXA unveils high-capacity fibre route for key Euro business centres". Computer Weekly. Retrieved 14 July 2025.
  32. ^ "EXA Infrastructure Expands Fibre Network with Project Visegrád in Central Europe". The Fast Mode. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  33. ^ "EXA removes major European network bottleneck by upgrading Marseille to Paris route". Optical Connections News. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
  34. ^ "Eurobites: EXA tackles Paris–Marseille bottleneck". Light Reading. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
  35. ^ "EXA Infrastructure to Purchase Long-haul Duct Assets from Conexio". Telecom Review Americas. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
  36. ^ "Exa Infrastructure advances transatlantic connectivity with new subsea cable route | Fibre Systems". www.fibre-systems.com. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  37. ^ "Jim Fagan named Exa Infrastructure CEO". Capacity Media. 2024-02-21. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  38. ^ "Former Vodafone CEO Nick Read finds new home at EXA Infrastructure | Total Telecom". totaltele.com. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
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