EXA Infrastructure has announced plans to deploy a new fiber backbone connecting Poland, Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary to its network in Germany and Austria, which it claims will be the largest pan-European backbone fibre deployment in Central Europe in the last 25 years.
According to a statement issued Thursday, the project – billed “Project Visegrád” – aims to deliver new high-capacity international fibre routes linking Warsaw, Poznań, Prague, Bratislava and Budapest directly into EXA’s hyperscale backbone in Berlin, Frankfurt and Vienna.
Meanwhile, EXA will also expand its metro fibre footprints in Warsaw, Prague, Bratislava and Berlin to connect carrier-neutral data centres in those cities.
EXA said the new backbone will be built with HDPE ducts containing multiple microducts to maximise scalability and flexibility. The initial deployment will use 216-fibre Corning Ultra G.652D cable, while the microduct design enables seamless upgrades to next-generation technologies such as hollow-core fibre.
EXA also plans to deploy the majority of the routes are within protected corridors adjacent to oil and gas such as the Druzhba oil pipeline to “ensure ultra-high availability”.
“Central Europe is one of the fastest-growing digital economies in Europe, yet its international connectivity has historically lagged Western Europe,” said EXA Infrastructure CEO Jim Fagan in a statement. “With Project Visegrád we are building the resilient, scalable backbone needed to unlock the region’s full potential, while extending EXA’s reach into new growth markets across the Balkans, Turkey and beyond.”
Fagan added that Project Visegrád – which is named after the historic political, economic and cultural alliance of Poland, Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary – will also provide “a future-proof foundation for hyperscalers, carriers and enterprises that require the highest standards of connectivity.”
The first routes are expected to be ready for service in mid-2026, with additional routes scheduled through 2027.
