EXA Infrastructure connects South-East and Western European digital networks via Trans Adriatic Pipeline
Baku, May 4, AZERTAC
EXA Infrastructure, the largest dedicated digital infrastructure platform connecting Europe and North America, and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline AG (TAP), part of the Southern Gas Corridor transporting natural gas from Azerbaijan to Europe, unveiled a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for a joint venture (JV) to build a new fiber route connecting France with Turkey in a major expansion of EXA Infrastructure’s European network, according to TAP AG consortium.
The JV will utilize a fiber optic cable already installed by TAP alongside the 878-kilometre gas pipeline, creating the only direct connection between south-east and Western Europe to provide high-levels of redundancy over existing multi-stage alternative routes.
TAP has been an independent transmission system operator since late 2020. The pipeline connects with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline at the Greek-Turkish border, crosses Northern Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea before coming ashore in Southern Italy to connect to the Italian natural gas network.
EXA will share access to TAP’s spare fiber facilities, which are separate to TAP’s gas business, along its full length. EXA and TAP expect to obtain any required clearances and the new system is expected to be operational in Q1 2023.
A resilient, high-speed and low-latency connection between south-east and Western Europe has remained a missing link in the continent’s network infrastructure for more than two decades. Through the new fiber optic route, the JV will add a direct link from Marseille to Istanbul to EXA’s owned network infrastructure, with branches connecting to Athens, Sofia and Tirana. The new route will feature 36 pairs of state-of-the-art, high-capacity G652D optical fiber in the strategic section of the new corridor.
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