Telia Carrier expands global backbone to Zagreb, improves connectivity for CEE and the Balkans

Zagreb, Croatia – 6 November 2016 – Telia Carrier today announced that it has established a new point of presence (PoP) in Zagreb, Croatia, now providing wholesale IP transit and Ethernet services for carriers, content and cloud providers. With the fastest growing internet penetration rate in the region, Zagreb has become a conduit for connectivity as domestic operators and those in surrounding countries can now connect via the Croatian capital to bring high speed connectivity services closer to end users.

Croatia is one of the biggest telecommunications markets in the region and while local operators traditionally built out their own networks here, the recent spike in demand for services across borders has brought the need for help from international carriers. The new PoP allows Telia Carrier to expand the reach of its top-two ranked global IP backbone, AS1299, to Croatia and adjacent countries. Zagreb is uniquely positioned as a major connectivity hub and with access to AS1299, can potentially become a hop for bordering nations as well. This extension also enables content providers, many of which Telia Carrier has strong relationships with, to now extend their services with Telia Carrier into this region, improving customer experience by bringing their content closer to end users.

“Telia Carrier is dedicated to delivering a responsive, connected experience to address the continued demand in the Eastern European market,” said Jerzy Wilisowski, director of sales, Europe at Telia Carrier. “By moving into Zagreb, in addition to existing PoPs in Budapest and Vienna, Telia Carrier strengthens its presence in a high growth IP transit market in Croatia, and improves the customer experience for those using online gaming and content services provided in the region.”

Telia Carrier’s global fiber backbone has grown organically, without acquisitions, and is the first to be 100G-enabled in both Europe and North America. It is also the first network to successfully transmit 1 Tb/s on its US network. According to Dyn Research’s global backbone rankings, AS1299, Telia Carrier’s global IP backbone is currently ranked top-two. Telia Carrier’s rapid growth and ascension through the rankings was recently highlighted in Dyn’s ‘Baker’s Dozen, 2015 edition’ report. The company enables worldwide connectivity by connecting more than 200 Points of Presence (PoPs) across Europe, North America, Asia, and the Middle East including over 70 PoPs in North America alone.