EXA Infrastructure

EXA Infrastructure is a digital infrastructure platform and cable network connecting Europe and North America owning over 155,000 km of fibre network in 37 countries.^[1][2][3] It owns and manages extensive terrestrial and subsea fiber networks, including EXA Express, Dunant, Havfrue, and Amitie.^[4] It was established in the 2000s as part of joint projects by Hibernia Networks, Interoute and KPN.^[5][6]  

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.^[7]

In 2004, EXA acquired the CECOM Network in the Czech Republic.^[8] In 2005, the network was expanded in the US and EU. In 2006, the network extended to Halifax, Boston, New York, Chicago, and Montreal.^[9] 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.^[10] The project Kelvin, expanding the network in Northern Ireland, followed in 2010, along with the building to Istanbul.^[11] In 2011, EXA's network was expanded with a subsea cable landing from Tunisia to Sicily.^[12] The following year, the Bezeq submarine cable was landed in Bari.^[13] In 2015, EXA Infrastructure introduced EXA Infrastructure Express with the lowest latency connection between the UK and the US.^[14]

In 2018, Sofia-Belgrade-Budapest was built, and in 2019, KPN was acquired, expanding routes in the UK and Netherlands.^[13] On September 17, 2021, EXA was established in London by I Squared Capital.^[15] The company emerged from the infrastructure assets carved out from GTT (Interoute/Hibernia) which had been developed since the 2000s.^[16][17][18]

In 2022, EXA Infrastructure extended its subsea and terrestrial fiber/duct infrastructure across Italy, Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, Turkey, France, Spain, and Portugal.^[19][20][21] In 2023, EXA Infrastructure added three new transatlantic cables to its network, named Dunant, Havfrue, and Amitie.^[4][22][23]

In 2024, Exa Infrastructure agreed with Telecom Egypt to extend its network from Europe to Egypt.^[24] 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.^[25]

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.^[26]

The Managed Fibre Network (MFN) service allows enterprises to scale quickly with a fully managed fiber model, reducing the complexities of network ownership.^[27]

Activities

EXA Infrastructure operates primarily in Europe, trans-Atlantic, and East Coast North America, focusing on infrastructure, transport, colocation, and technical services.^[28][21] Jim Fagan is the CEO since August 2024,^[17][29] and Nick Read (former Vodafone CEO) is chair of EXA's board of directors.^[30][18]