Spain-based submarine cable specialist IslaLink said it has reached an agreement with Grid Telecom further to extend the ‘Ionian’ submarine cable system connecting Italy and Greece. Under the deal, the infrastructure will now be extended with Grid Telecom’s fibre-optic network from the landing point in Preveza on Greek coast to Athens and then on to Thessaloniki.
The main aim is to support the growth of high-speed broadband services in Greece and the development of Athens and Thessaloniki as regional hubs for cloud, content and telecommunication services, said the partners. In Italy, a terrestrial fibre ring will connect Crotone on the southern Italian coast with the cities of Milan and Rome.
Ionian is being deployed by the Orange group’s Italian marine network subsidiary Elettra and will be ready for service in November 2022. Earlier this year, IslaLink secured financial backing from Fiera Infrastructure for a project that will eventually provide wholesale capacity, optical spectrum and dark fibre to telecommunication operators and content providers alike.
