- Ultra‑low‑loss subsea and G.652D/G.654C terrestrial fibre ensures minimal latency
- Expands EXA’s global network and bolsters Europe’s digital resilience
What happened: EXA energises new London–Frankfurt–Amsterdam–Brussels fibre route
EXA Infrastructure, Europe’s largest dedicated digital infrastructure provider, has deployed a new 1,200 km fibre route connecting London (UK) with Frankfurt (Germany), Amsterdam (the Netherlands) and Brussels (Belgium). The project comprises 1,085 km of new low‑loss G.652D terrestrial fibre and a 115 km G.654C ultra‑low‑loss subsea section under the North Sea, from Margate (England) to Ostend (Belgium).
EXA is the sole telecom consortium member responsible for landing and backhaul services on this consortium submarine cable, marking its 21st and 22nd global cable landing stations. The build upgrades In‑Line Amplifier facilities across the UK, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Steve Roberts, EXA’s SVP of Strategic Network Investments, highlighted that this is the “first new subsea cable on this complex corridor—in the North Sea—for 25 years,” complementing existing Channel Tunnel routes. COO Ciarán Delaney noted the regulatory and seabed challenges required on‑region expertise and sophisticated installation methods to future‑proof connectivity.
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Why it matters
This new route offers significantly lower latency and more resilient connectivity between major financial centres. It supports Europe’s digital infrastructure at a time when traffic between these hubs—and across transatlantic segments such as EXA Express, Dunant, Havfrue and Amitié—is surging.
The deployment also bolsters continental capacity by complementing EXA’s recent 1.2 Tbps terrestrial upgrades in partnership with Nokia’s ICE7 coherent optics—bringing efficiency and power‑per‑bit reductions of up to 50 per cent.
By building its own subsea capacity, EXA reduces dependency on third‑party cables while strengthening its appeal to latency‑sensitive clients, such as financial institutions and cloud/data‑centre operators. Moreover, the route enhances Europe’s digital sovereignty by fastening a reliable backbone between the UK and the EU—crucial in a post‑Brexit landscape.
