Grid Telecom, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO) of Greece, announced an expansion of its international network plans, aiming to develop Crete as a major digital hub linking Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Grid Telecom has invested in infrastructure to transform Crete as a strategic axis for data traffic in the Eastern Mediterranean. Deploying Minoas East-West and Apollo East-West repeaterless fiber cable systems, interconnects Crete with the Greek mainland using four diverse routes and 96 fiber-pairs. The Minoas East and Minoas West cables deliver up to 35 Tb/s capacity per fiber-pair, linking Chania to the Peloponnese, and providing an alternative low-latency route to Milan and other Western European destinations. The Apollo East and Apollo West cables were introduced in service in May 2025, linking Heraklion and Attica regions without intermediate landings and offering up to 11.5 Tb/s capacity per fiber-pair, providing an express path to the Balkans and beyond.
Additionally, Grid Telecom co-owns the Crete branch of the 2Africa system, the world’s longest subsea fiber cable, which was landed on Crete in February 2025, connecting 33 countries and 46 landing points across Europe, Africa, and Asia, spanning 45,000 km, and supporting 18 Tb/s capacity per fiber-pair or more, on key segments in the Mediterranean. Through partnerships with Telecom Egypt and other stakeholders, Grid Telecom is preparing to deliver robust international capacity eastwards to the Middle East and westwards to major European destinations, directly interconnecting Crete with Port Said, Genoa, Marseille, and beyond.
Grid Telecom has managed to consolidate its position as the premier, truly carrier-neutral wholesaler in Greece, delivering open-access strategic digital infrastructure, by increasing its optical network reach in Crete through overhead (OPGW) and underground fiber cables, and by upgrading its nationwide DWDM network. By integrating an extensive optical fiber network across Greece and neighbouring countries with its own links and points-of-presence, the company seeks to provide network diversity, security, and efficient low-latency connections. This expansion allows Grid Telecom to offer alternative backhaul links with the shortest possible routes between data centers and cable landing stations in both the Greek mainland and Crete, supporting its function as a carrier-neutral, open-access data node.
With state-of-the-art infrastructure, Grid Telecom, strengthens Greece’s role as a digital connectivity hub in the wider Balkan and Mediterranean region, with significant benefits across business sectors, while creating new prospects for strong and mutually beneficial synergies in the telecommunications ecosystem of Crete.
