With the mission of further strengthening its network footprint in Southeast Europe, independent Eurasian network service provider RETN has expanded its portfolio in Bulgaria with a point of presence (PoP) at Neterra’s Sofia Data Centre (SDC).
RETN’s aim to connect Europe and Asia is built on its own homogenous dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) and IP/multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) network platform and branched land routes, passing through Western Europe, Eastern Europe and Central Asia up to the border with China and further onwards into Southeast Asia.
The PoP adds further capacity and connectivity options in Sofia, one of the Balkans’ key interconnection hubs, supporting carriers, service providers, content providers and enterprises with scalable IP Transit and diverse routes to major European and Eurasian markets.
With the addition of SDC, RETN now operates eight on-net PoPs in Sofia, reinforcing the city’s role in its regional network.
In business for more than 30 years, Neterra is a global communications provider that operates more than 220 points of presence around the world. An authorised Starlink reseller for SpaceX, its flagship service for businesses is hybrid internet Neterra Omnia, which combines fibre, satellite, 5G and other comms technologies in a single connection. Nine of the world’s 10 largest telecom operators and close to 1,000 companies worldwide use Neterra’s services.
The connection adds another international route to Neterra’s upstream mix, expanding its options for carrying traffic to and from Europe and Asia. Neterra believes its customers – carriers, ISPs, content providers and enterprises across Southeast Europe – can now benefit from greater route diversity and added resilience, with traffic able to reach major markets over multiple independent paths.
In addition, the expansion also marks the addition of Neterra as an RETN IP Transit customer. Neterra is now connected to RETN’s international backbone, gaining access to RETN’s network across Europe and Asia.
Commenting on the expansion and outlining what it could mean for the company, RETN commercial director Betina Pavlova said: “Sofia is an important connectivity hub for Southeast Europe, and expanding our PoP footprint here strengthens our ability to serve customers across the region. We’re pleased to welcome Neterra as a new IP Transit customer and to connect them to RETN’s international backbone. This expansion further strengthens our network in Southeast Europe, and the connectivity options available to customers across the region and beyond.”
Dean Belev, Neterra senior product manager for connectivity and NetIX, added: “Route diversity is what keeps a network dependable. Adding RETN as an upstream provider gives us another independent path to Europe and Asia, and that translates directly into more resilient connectivity for our customers across the region.”
The new links come after RETN added a sixth independent subsea internet route serving Taiwan at the end of September 2026. The company said it made its move as repeated cable disruptions around Taiwan continued to expose the risks of concentrated international connectivity, with RETN designing its routes across different landing points, terrestrial corridors, datacentres and equipment suppliers to reduce the impact of individual failures.
Weeks earlier, it launched a London-Brussels internet route to enhance the resilience of its UK–Mainland Europe network. The investment aimed to provide true route diversity and infrastructure resilience in response to the concentration of international traffic across limited UK–Europe routes.
