EXA Infrastructure announce new EU Routes and gain a US tailwind
EXA Infrastructure has announced Project Visegrád on 4 September 2025, the largest cross‑border fibre backbone build in Central Europe in 25 years. The new routes link Warsaw, Poznań, Prague, Bratislava and Budapest directly to EXA’s hyperscale backbone in Berlin, Frankfurt and Vienna. Metro footprints grow in Warsaw, Prague, Bratislava and Berlin to connect leading carrier‑neutral data centres. First routes target service in 2026 with further phases in 2027.
Engineering highlights include HDPE ducts with multiple microducts, an initial 216‑fibre Corning Ultra G.652D cable, and a clear upgrade path to next‑gen fibre such as hollow‑core. Many paths run in protected corridors beside energy infrastructure including the Druzhba pipeline, raising resilience and availability for regional and pan‑European traffic.
The timing aligns with a major US policy shift on 11 August 2025. The FCC has fast‑tracked the first full overhaul of subsea cable rules since 2001, cutting approval times and compliance overheads and tightening security with a presumption of denial for high‑risk applicants, limits on leasing to untrusted parties, and mandatory cyber and physical safeguards. EXA’s COO Ciarán Delaney welcomed the move, pointing to broader investment, more route diversity and stronger network resilience.
What this means for customers
• Faster quoting and deployment windows on new US systems and upgrades, easing historic bottlenecks at key landings
• More route choice and lower latency across Central Europe as Project Visegrád comes online
• A stronger platform for AI, cloud and data‑intensive workloads, backed by EXA’s 155,000 km network, six transatlantic cables and low‑latency Europe to North America paths
Together, the European backbone expansion and the US regulatory boost set the stage for quicker capacity adds, richer path diversity and a smoother procurement experience across both sides of the Atlantic.
