EXA Infrastructure
Procurement partnerAbout
EXA Infrastructure owns and operates a meshed network of terrestrial and subsea fibre across Europe and the Atlantic, covering over 180,000 route km, 18 subsea cable systems, and more than 500 DWDM PoPs across 31 countries. The company sells capacity at the physical and transport layers — including dark fibre, wavelengths, spectrum, Ethernet, and colocation — without competing with its customers for end-user services. Backed by I Squared Capital, EXA Infrastructure has been run by the same team ...
Details
VenSearch Intelligence
Ideal Customer
- EXA Infrastructure's sweet spot is large-scale enterprises, hyperscalers, and service providers with significant cross-Atlantic or intra-European data transport requirements — organisations that have dedicated network engineering teams managing autonomous systems or complex Layer 2/3 environments.
- Typical customers include hyperscalers (AWS, Google, Microsoft-scale cloud providers), global wholesale carriers, financial services firms needing ultra-low-latency transatlantic connectivity, and content/gaming/broadcast companies scaling into new markets.
Key Differentiators
- EXA Infrastructure positions itself as the largest dedicated, pure-play digital infrastructure operator connecting Europe and North America — independent of any hyperscaler or cloud provider — owning the network end-to-end from duct to subsea cable rather than leasing capacity from third parties, which it claims eliminates intermediate carrier risk.
- Its flagship differentiator is the EXA Express transatlantic cable, offering sub-60ms round-trip latency between New York and London, the lowest available on any transatlantic route, which underpins the EXA Financial Network for high-frequency trading and financial exchange connectivity.
Industries Served
- EXA Infrastructure primarily serves five verticals: service providers and wholesale carriers, cloud/content/tech (hyperscalers, NeoClouds, CDNs, gaming, and streaming), financial markets (investment banks, retail banks, HFT and trading firms, crypto exchanges, and market data providers), government and defence (government agencies, local authorities, and defence contractors), and large enterprises requiring data centre interconnect.
- The company claims to be the trusted infrastructure provider for 8 out of 10 of the Forbes top digital companies globally, and operates the EXA Financial Network — a dedicated low-latency platform connecting 25 financial exchanges across 11 countries.
Service Coverage
- EXA Infrastructure owns and operates over 180,000 route km of terrestrial and subsea fibre across 31 countries, with 18 subsea cable systems, 500+ DWDM PoPs, and 31 cable landing stations connecting Europe and North America.
- The network spans key European markets — including FLAP hubs, the Iberian Peninsula, the Nordics, and Central and Eastern Europe — and crosses the Atlantic via nine transatlantic cable systems, with reach extending into the Middle East and, via partnerships, into Asia and Africa.
Partnerships
- EXA Infrastructure's primary optical technology partners are Nokia (selected in May 2025 for the Nokia 1830 GX platform with ICE7 coherent optics to upgrade its international network) and Infinera (whose ICE6 platform powers the Trans Adriatic Express) and Ciena (used on the new Ashburn-Atlanta US route).
- Network and route partnerships include Ellalink (Europe–South America connectivity), Telecom Egypt/WeConnect (intercontinental traffic via the Middle East), HGC Global Communications (Asia gateway into Europe and North America), GÉANT (transatlantic research and education connectivity), Bulk Fiber Networks (Dunant transatlantic system), FiberSense (network protection monitoring in Italy), and Trans Adriatic Pipeline AG (TAE joint venture).
Company Size & Ownership
- EXA Infrastructure was formally launched in September 2021 when I Squared Capital completed its $2.15 billion acquisition of GTT Communications' infrastructure division, which transferred approximately 420 employees to the new entity.
- Current employee estimates range from roughly 505 (Revelio Labs, March 2026) to approximately 850 (LeadIQ, July 2026), with the workforce spread across Northern Europe, Eastern Europe, and South Asia.
Compliance & Certifications
- EXA Infrastructure's privacy policy references ISO 27001 as the basis for its information security technical and organisational measures, and third-party data sources list ISO 27001 (Information Security Management) and ISO 9001 (Quality Management) as maintained certifications.
- As a pure-play carrier providing transparent transport, EXA facilitates GDPR compliance for customers by not inspecting or storing customer data packets.
Compiled from public sources by VenSearch · Last researched October 13, 2026
Offerings
15 offeringsCarriers and Service Providers Wholesale Capacity
Wholesale fibre, wavelength, and transatlantic capacity for carriers and service providers, available on IRU, lease, or managed terms from a single operator. Covers the Atlantic crossing, European backbone, and landing points on both sides, allowing carriers to extend their reach without building their own infrastructure.
Cloud, Content and AI Connectivity
Dark fibre, wavelengths, and spectrum on EXA Infrastructure's owned network tailored for hyperscalers, NeoClouds, GPU builders, content and streaming platforms, and gaming companies scaling into new markets. The offering includes 400G wavelengths with 800G readiness, access to 500+ DWDM PoPs across Europe and into North America, and capacity provisioned ahead of demand.
Colocation
Space and power at EXA Infrastructure's network sites, including cable landing stations, in-line amplifier (ILA) shelters, and PoPs across 500+ DWDM locations. Designed around the equipment that runs backbone infrastructure, with over 300 fibre colocation sites available.
Data Centre Interconnect and Private Builds
Discrete duct and cable infrastructure designed, built, and operated for a customer's exclusive use, covering data centre interconnect, campus, and metro builds. Typically spans up to 100km between data centres with very high fibre count, engineered to specific route and site requirements.
EXA Financial Network (EFN)
A dedicated low-latency network platform connecting 25 financial exchanges across 11 countries, representing around 60% of global market capitalisation, plus eight crypto exchanges. Built on EXA's two fastest transatlantic routes — EXA Express (sub-60ms New York to London) and AEC-1 (69.2ms) — with services including ultra-low-latency wavelengths, exchange colocation and cross-connects, fixed route Ethernet, and dark fibre.
EXA Meridian
EXA Infrastructure's ninth transatlantic cable system, currently in build and scheduled for ready-for-service in 2029, providing 500 terabits of capacity. It is described as the first transatlantic cable built by a single operator in a decade, combining subsea and terrestrial infrastructure under a single operator to support hyperscalers, cloud providers, and enterprises.
Government and Critical Infrastructure Connectivity
Secure fibre routes and facilities for government organisations, local authorities, and defence contractors, with published modern slavery, supplier conduct, and emissions disclosures to meet procurement requirements. Built on the same owned network operated to the same standards as the wider EXA Infrastructure platform, designed for services where downtime is not an option.
Long Haul Dark Fibre
Fibre pairs on long-haul routes available as a long-term IRU or flexible lease, built on G.652.D low-loss fibre and Corning LEAF G.655 supporting over 50Tbit/s per pair. Long-haul attenuation is under 0.20 dB/km, with spare duct on the route so extra pairs can be pulled in as demand grows.
Metro Fibre
Dense metro fibre in cities where traffic concentrates, connected into EXA Infrastructure's long-haul network. Built on G.652 metro fibre with attenuation under 0.25 dB/km at 1550nm, connecting to long-haul routes and landing stations.
Multi-Function Network (MFN) / Ethernet
Fixed route Ethernet services on EXA Infrastructure's owned network, offered as uncontended connections with deterministic routing. Available across the terrestrial network and on specialist routes such as the EXA Financial Network for exchanges where a wavelength is more than required.
Spectrum
Optical spectrum sold on EXA Infrastructure's owned routes, allowing customers to run their own equipment on the fibre rather than taking a managed wavelength service. Available on long-haul and transatlantic routes including the Trans Adriatic Express.
Subsea Fibre on Owned Systems
Fibre pairs on EXA Infrastructure's owned and operated transatlantic subsea cable systems, providing access to nine transatlantic cable systems with four wholly owned. Covers pan-continental subsea connectivity with ownership from cable to landing station on wholly owned systems.
Technical Services
Design, build, run, and repair services for network infrastructure provided by EXA Infrastructure's engineering team, including 24/7 monitoring from NOCs in Dublin and Pune. Services include proactive fibre degradation monitoring that locates defects to within five metres, with fast field repair coordination.
Trans Adriatic Express (TAE)
A 4,500km direct fibre route from the Greek and Turkish border to Marseille, built as a joint venture with Trans Adriatic Pipeline AG and laid alongside the TAP gas pipeline. The route connects Istanbul, Sofia, Athens, Tirana, and Milan across six countries, featuring 36 optical fibre pairs, an 800G-capable Infinera ICE6 platform, and a 106km Adriatic subsea crossing. Services on the route include Wavelengths (10G, 100G, 400G), Spectrum, Dark Fibre, and ILA Colocation.
Wavelengths
Lit wavelength capacity at 10G, 100G, and 400G on EXA Infrastructure's owned and operated fibre, engineered and monitored by EXA. Available across the terrestrial and transatlantic network, including on the EXA Express and AEC-1 transatlantic routes, with 800G capability on the roadmap.
Considering EXA Infrastructure?
Our team will work with you to determine if EXA Infrastructure 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.