Telecom Italia's international services arm, Sparkle, has announced the landing of a new section of the BlueMed submarine cable in Chania, Crete, Greece. The announcement was made during a press conference at the Residence of the Ambassador of Italy in Athens, attended by key officials, including the Italian Ambassador, the Greek Minister of Digital Governance, and Sparkle executives.
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BlueMed submarine cable
BlueMed is part of the Blue and Raman Submarine Cable Systems, a collaboration with Google and other operators, connecting Italy with France, Greece, and Mediterranean-bordering countries, and extending to Mumbai, India. The cable features four fiber pairs with an initial design capacity of over 25 Tbps per pair, providing high-speed internet and digital solutions for ISPs, telecom operators, and enterprises.
Expanding Mediterranean Connectivity
Laying began in 2023, and the cable now connects Genoa to Palermo, with branches to France (Marseille and Bastia), Sardinia (Golfo Aranci), and Rome (Pomezia). It recently reached Crete and will continue to other Mediterranean locations and Aqaba, Jordan. The Tyrrhenian and Middle Eastern terrestrial sections are in full operation, while further Mediterranean landings and the full operation from Genoa to Aqaba are expected by this year, Sparkle said.
Establishing Greece as a Digital Hub
In Crete, BlueMed reaches Sparkle's data center in Chania, a cable landing station interconnected with the island's terrestrial networks and Sparkle's MedNautilus network (with connections to mainland Greece, Turkey, and Italy). BlueMed enhances data traffic capacity and resilience, establishing Greece as a crucial digital route between Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
"With the landing of BlueMed in Crete, Greece is enabling a new digital route for Internet traffic between Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia," said Sparkle. "We have been operating in Greece for more than 20 years, and here we have the skills and infrastructures needed to develop it as a new Internet hub of the Mediterranean, a role destined to grow further in the future thanks to the landing of new submarine cables."
Sparkle Greece said, "With four data centers in the country and a wide portfolio of digital services, including IoT and networking solutions, we ensure Greek enterprises and institutions efficient communications both within their sites and with their external ecosystems."
Also Read: Sparkle Launches GreenMed Submarine Cable to Connect Italy to Balkans and Eastern Med
GreenMed cable
Sparkle is also developing the GreenMed cable, connecting Italy to Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Greece, and Turkey, creating a low-latency route between Central Europe, the Balkans, and the Central and Eastern Mediterranean countries.
