Arelion
Procurement partnerAbout
Arelion is a global connectivity provider that designs, builds, and operates one of the world's most interconnected fiber networks, spanning over 80,000 km across Europe, North America, and Asia and serving customers in 129 countries. The company provides carrier-grade connectivity services including IP transit, cloud connect, wavelengths, Ethernet, voice, messaging, and mobile/IoT services to enterprises, digital platforms, and service providers. Its global IP backbone, AS1299, has been ranked ...
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Details
VenSearch Intelligence
Ideal Customer
- Arelion's sweet spot is mid-market to large enterprise and wholesale customers — specifically multinational enterprises with operations spanning Europe, North America, and Asia that require business-critical, high-capacity connectivity.
- Their own materials identify a great fit as companies that have global needs across multiple regions and require a responsive provider for secure, reliable network connectivity and cloud transition.
Key Differentiators
- Arelion's primary differentiator is its AS1299 backbone, ranked #1 globally for connectedness by Kentik since 2017, which directly connects more than 72% of global Internet routes and reaches 95% of US and EU end-users in a single hop.
- Unlike peers that have grown through acquisitions, Arelion has built its entire 80,000+ km fiber network organically over 30+ years, which it claims results in greater reliability and architectural cohesion.
Industries Served
- Arelion explicitly targets financial services (banks, exchanges), manufacturing, pharma and health, gaming and media, data centers, hosting and CDN, technology companies, academic and government institutions, fixed and mobile operators, and enterprise IT/software companies.
- The company also serves hyperscalers, content providers, and application/cloud providers at the wholesale level.
Service Coverage
- Arelion operates a truly global network spanning over 80,000 km of optical fiber across Europe, North America, and Asia, with 350+ Points of Presence (PoPs) in more than 120 cities across 35 countries.
- The company serves over 2,000 customers in 129 countries and maintains 450+ local access partners worldwide to enable last-mile reach.
Partnerships
- Arelion operates an award-winning Conflict-Free Channel Program with a global ecosystem of more than 400 partners, including Technology Service Distributors (TSDs) such as AVANT, Telarus, Intelisys, AppDirect/AppSmart, Bridgepointe, and Sandler Partners.
- The company is also a Gold-tier Verified Peering Provider (VPP) for Google, and provides Cloud Connect directly to AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, Oracle Cloud, and IBM Cloud.
Company Size
- Arelion was founded in 1993 as part of Telia Company (operating as TeliaSonera International Carrier, then Telia Carrier), became independent in June 2021 following its acquisition by Polhem Infra, and rebranded to Arelion in January 2022.
- The company currently employs approximately 578–599 people across 6 continents, with estimated annual revenue ranging from roughly $196 million (per RocketReach) to $100–500 million (per Owler).
Ownership
- Arelion is a privately held company, owned by Polhem Infra, a Swedish investment firm jointly owned by some of Sweden's largest public pension funds.
- Telia Company sold Telia Carrier to Polhem Infra for roughly US$1 billion in a deal announced October 2020 and completed June 2021.
Compliance & Certifications
- Arelion is a member of MEF and offers MEF 3.0 certified services based on established industry standards for carrier Ethernet, IP, and optical transport.
- The company is a proud member of MANRS (Mutually Agreed Norms for Routing Security) and has deployed RPKI route validation and filtering on AS1299 to prevent BGP hijacking and route leaks.
Compiled from public sources by VenSearch · Last researched October 13, 2026
Offerings
21 offeringsAI Direct
A comprehensive connectivity suite of products unified under one name to deliver networking solutions specifically designed for AI workloads. AI Direct brings together ultra-fast Internet, private and secure connections, massive bandwidth, and direct access to cloud platforms to meet AI-specific connectivity demands including low latency, high capacity, and security.
Cloud Connect
A dedicated cloud connectivity service providing direct access to major Cloud Service Providers including AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, Oracle Cloud, and IBM Cloud. It offers secure, performance-assured dedicated bandwidth to ensure the best interactive end-user experience with remote cloud-based services.
DDoS Mitigation
A network security service that protects customer networks against DDoS attacks with continuous host-level protection. It is designed to detect and respond to attacks rapidly, maintaining availability and performance under pressure for always-on environments.
DIA (IP Connect)
Dedicated Internet Access service providing high-speed Internet access without the need for an AS number or BGP routing. It provides full access to the Internet and is suited for enterprise connectivity, SD-WAN underlay, web-hosting, and content delivery, backed by a carrier-grade SLA.
Ethernet
Ethernet connectivity services allowing customers to configure and shape their network with different topologies using EVPL (Ethernet Virtual Private Line) and ELAN services. These services support carrier-grade Ethernet connectivity across Arelion's global network.
Flash Call Monetization
A mobile authentication monetization solution offering advantages for Mobile Network Operators and their customers, including enhanced control, flexibility, protection, and transparency. The service enables MNOs to manage and monetize flash call-based authentication traffic on their networks.
Google's Gold-tier VPP
As a gold-tier Verified Peering Provider (VPP), Arelion provides top-ranked enterprise connectivity to Google's publicly available services. This designation reflects Arelion's ability to provide diverse connectivity to Google and enable highly available access to Google Cloud services.
International Messaging Services
A messaging service providing high-quality and secure access to Mobile Network Operators for terminating alerts, marketing messages, and notifications. It enables businesses and messaging providers to deliver A2P messages to end-users globally.
International Voice
A wholesale voice service providing global termination built for retail operators. It enables customers to reach worldwide voice destinations using Arelion's global network, ensuring seamless voice services for end-users.
Internet Exchange (IX) Connect
A service connecting customers to the world's leading Internet Exchange Providers including LINX, ESPANIX, MSK-IX, AMS-IX, and DE-CIX. It enables direct peering and exchange of traffic with other networks at major Internet exchange points globally.
IP Transit
BGP Transit service providing access to Internet content and billions of end-users via Arelion's world's best-connected backbone, AS1299. The service supports speeds up to 400Gbps and reaches 95% of North American and European end-users within a single hop. Three route options are available: Global Connect, Euro Connect, and Content Connect, all available in IPv4 and IPv6 domains.
IPX & IoT
An IoT connectivity service enabling customers to connect directly to their device management platform over Arelion's IoT backbone. It leverages Arelion's global fiber backbone and extensive partnerships to support the evolving IoT ecosystem.
Managed Optical Fiber Network
A managed infrastructure service delivering the benefits of owning fiber network infrastructure at a fraction of the cost of building it. Arelion's dark fiber solutions are managed on behalf of the customer, supporting high-capacity, mission-critical services.
Mobile Data Roaming
A mobile roaming service that expands global data roaming coverage to more than 700 mobile operators. It enables mobile operators to provide their subscribers with data connectivity when roaming internationally across Arelion's network of operator partnerships.
Numbering Solutions
A numbering service that enables customers to increase their international reach with minimal cost increases. It provides access to international numbering resources to support expanded voice and communications services.
Optical Fiber
Dark fiber service enabling customers to build their own network on Arelion's fiber infrastructure. It provides a dedicated path for high-bandwidth, mission-critical services with high performance and almost unlimited scalability.
Roaming Signaling
A roaming connectivity service that simplifies international roaming through Arelion's IPX network. It handles the signaling required to enable seamless roaming experiences for mobile subscribers across operator networks.
SecureConnect
SecureConnect Transit and SecureConnect DIA offer robust IP connectivity combined with integrated network protection against DDoS attacks right at the access point. The service combines connectivity and security into a single solution to safeguard connections from the point of entry.
Smart IP-VPN
A private networking service enabling customers to build their own highly secure Virtual Private Network for their global intranet using Arelion's MPLS network. It is designed for enterprises that need a dedicated, secure network for internal traffic across global locations.
Voice as a service
A managed voice outsourcing solution designed to help operators optimize their voice business. Customers can outsource voice service delivery and management to Arelion, reducing operational complexity.
Wavelengths
A high-capacity transport service providing dedicated, high-volume data transport using DWDM (Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing) technology. It is designed for customers requiring dedicated bandwidth for large-scale data transport across Arelion's global fiber backbone.
Considering Arelion?
Our team will work with you to determine if Arelion is the right fit for your organization. From research and assessment through procurement negotiation and ongoing vendor management — we handle the entire process at no cost to you.