Key takeaways
- EXA Infrastructure and SOCAR Fiber signed a strategic partnership in Bodrum, Turkey on July 2nd 2024
- The new terrestrial fibre route provides diversity to the traditional Red Sea corridor used by submarine cables
- The 1850km route spans Türkiye between Greece and Georgia, with further construction contemplated towards the Iraq border
- SOCAR Fiber, a subsidiary of SOCAR Türkiye, has operated fibre along the TANAP pipeline since 2013
- EXA can also market other SOCAR Fiber cable ends to major global data center operators
New terrestrial route across Türkiye
Bodrum, Turkey, July 2nd 2024 – EXA Infrastructure, the largest dedicated digital infrastructure platform throughout Europe, connecting North America and Asia via the Middle East, has signed a strategic partnership with SOCAR Fiber to develop a new terrestrial fibre optic route that will provide diversity to the traditional Red Sea corridor used by Submarine cables.
The new 1850km route will span the breadth of Türkiye, between Greece and Georgia, and contemplates further construction towards the Iraq border to provide connectivity into the Gulf region. The partnership between EXA Infrastructure and SOCAR Fiber highlights Türkiye’s role in the digital ecosystem and the importance of diverse digital corridors between Europe and the Middle East and Asia. The SOCAR Fiber cables are buried adjacent to the TANAP gas pipeline, providing exceptionally high levels of reliability, and integrates seamlessly with EXA’s Trans Adriatic Express network which utilises the TAP gas pipeline to Italy.
Route facts
- Spans the breadth of Türkiye, between Greece and Georgia
- Further construction contemplated towards the Iraq border for connectivity into the Gulf region
- Cables buried adjacent to the TANAP gas pipeline
- Integrates with EXA’s Trans Adriatic Express network, which utilises the TAP gas pipeline to Italy
- Serves 20 provinces and 67 districts across Türkiye
Comment from Steve Roberts
Steve Roberts, SVP of network investments at EXA Infrastructure, said: “Terrestrial routes in the region have been an important area of development across the industry for several years, but these have now become a priority. The vulnerability in the Red Sea region has shown that the industry needs more investment in diversity. We are committed to investing in route diversity and ensuring our customers can access Europe and North America with as many secure paths as possible, and this partnership with SOCAR provides an ultra reliable and highly scalable alternative to the Red Sea into Turkey and the rest of Europe."
What SOCAR Fiber brings
SOCAR Fiber is a subsidiary of SOCAR Türkiye. Since 2013, it has been providing secure electronic communication infrastructure services over its 1,850 km long fiber optic infrastructure along the TANAP Natural Gas Pipeline route. This fiber optic line, which spans Türkiye from east to west, serves 20 provinces and 67 districts. The cooperation agreement with EXA Infrastructure strengthens SOCAR Fiber’s position in the sector, and the company will continue to significantly contribute to Türkiye’s digital transformation in the future. In addition to leasing a pair of fiber optic cable ends, the agreement allows EXA Infrastructure to market other cable ends of SOCAR Fiber to major global data center operators.
About EXA Infrastructure
EXA Infrastructure is an award-winning portfolio company of I Squared Capital and the largest dedicated digital infrastructure platform throughout Europe, connecting North America and Asia via the Middle East.
With over 20 years of experience in building resilient networks, EXA Infrastructure provides the critical modern infrastructure and unrivalled engineering expertise that serves as the backbone for digital and economic growth. This includes mission-critical networks for governments and enterprises, hyperscale infrastructure for the world’s most innovative and influential businesses, and ultra-low latency, high bandwidth networks for financial, gaming and broadcast services.
Headquartered in London, the company owns 151,000 kilometres of fibre network across 34 countries, including six transatlantic cables and the lowest latency link between Europe and North America. For more information, see exainfra.net
