- Launches second Thessaloniki PoP to meet rising demand for low‑latency, secure connectivity.
- Enhances resilience via its fibre ring and BlueMed submarine cable access.
What happened:New Thessaloniki PoP Activated
Sparkle, Italy’s first international service provider, has opened a second Point of Presence (PoP) in Thessaloniki to support surging demand for low‑latency international connectivity across Greece and the Balkan region. The PoP, hosted in a neutral northern‑Greece data centre, offers Tier‑1 IP transit, DDoS protection, and Virtual NAP services It integrates into Sparkle’s proprietary fibre ring, linking the city northward to Bulgaria, eastward to Istanbul, and westward through Albania to Chania .From Chania, customers can now tap into the BlueMed submarine cable, connecting Mediterranean hubs and extending services to India via Mumbai .
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Why it’s important
The new PoP elevates both capacity and resilience, with infrastructure spanning national and cross‑border corridors. By offering DDoS defence and Virtual NAP, Sparkle addresses growing cyber threats while reducing barriers for ISPs and OTTs that typically require their own exchange points . Moreover, access to BlueMed via Chania connects local enterprises to global markets — reinforcing Greece and the Balkans as emerging digital hubs.
However, this expansion raises critical questions. Will federated telecom providers resist dependency on a single backbone? And as Sparkle builds dominance across Greece’s eight PoPs, what oversight exists to ensure fair pricing and open peering? These are important considerations as the company gains clout in Southeast Europe.
