Colt Introduces New Subsea and Fibre Routes to Support AI

Colt Technology Services has expanded its US network with new high-bandwidth routes linking the East Coast of the US and Europe, targeting telecoms operators, cloud providers and enterprises that require resilient, low latency connectivity across the Atlantic. 

The investment will strengthen one of the world’s busiest data corridors as AI workloads increase capacity requirements.

The global digital infrastructure company introduces a new transatlantic subsea route alongside fibre network builds on the US East Coast. 

Where route diversity and performance are central, the development widens the range of Colt-owned options available between major US hubs and European landing points.

Meeting transatlantic capacity demand

Demand for international bandwidth continues to grow as AI, cloud computing and streaming services generate data-heavy traffic flows. 

Transatlantic subsea cables carry 55% more data than transpacific routes, underlining the importance of the US–Europe link for global operators.

Large cloud and content providers are among the first to benefit from Colt’s expanded infrastructure. 

On major routes, their traffic accounts for more than 80% of all international bandwidth usage. Global used bandwidth has tripled since 2020, placing pressure on subsea systems and terrestrial backbones.

Colt provides capacity on the Marea subsea cable, which runs from Virginia Beach – around 200 miles south of Washington DC on the US east coast – to Bilbao in northern Spain. 

Securing capacity on Marea strengthens Colt’s ability to offer direct, high-capacity paths between North America and southern Europe.

The programme also includes investment in new high bandwidth fibre routes between key Atlantic cable landing stations. 

These terrestrial builds link landing points to core data centre clusters, ensuring that subsea capacity integrates into metro and long-haul networks.

A new network backbone connects New York to Ashburn, Virginia and links Ashburn to Virginia Beach. 

Ashburn, located at the heart of the Washington metropolitan area, hosts one of the world’s largest concentrations of data centres, known as Data Center Alley. 

This corridor aggregates hyperscale cloud infrastructure and enterprise workloads within a dense interconnection hub, impacting telcos and wholesale customers.

Resilience and routing options

Colt’s expansion increases its presence in the US to four connected cable landing stations on the east coast, with on-net options across 10 transatlantic subsea cable systems. 

In telecom terms, on-net means Colt directly controls and manages the infrastructure, enabling tighter service management and provisioning.

The company introduces diverse, high-capacity transatlantic routing options designed to provide resilience and back-up. 

Route diversity reduces the risk of disruption by ensuring traffic reroutes in the event of cable faults or maintenance.

End-to-end connectivity across Colt’s infrastructure between the US and Europe now includes new 100G and 400G wave options. 

A 100G or 400G wavelength is an optical channel capable of carrying 100 or 400 gigabits per second of data over fibre.

These options enable businesses to scale bandwidth in line with AI model training and large data transfers without deploying additional circuits.

Buddy Bayer, COO, Colt Technology Services, says: “This exciting network expansion marks the latest milestone in our ongoing commitment to our customers to deliver exceptional global infrastructure that powers the AI economy. 

“We’re building and managing the most valuable, sustainable digital infrastructure in the world: quantum secure, AI-ready and engineered to be sustainable and smart at every layer.” 

Expanding US footprint

The new routes form a key phase in Colt’s digital infrastructure expansion, advancing the company from Europe’s largest B2B fibre provider to one of the largest globally and a stronger player in the US market.

The expansion brings Colt’s presence in the US to four connected cable landing stations on the east coast, with on-net options across 10 transatlantic subsea cable systems. 

This infrastructure adds to Colt’s intelligent network in more than 40 countries with more than 1,100 connected data centres, 32,000 enterprise buildings and more than 275 cloud points of presence. 

A cloud point of presence is a physical location where cloud providers interconnect with network operators to exchange traffic.

As demand for high performance and energy efficient connectivity grows, operators and enterprises require scale, resilience and reach across international routes. 

By strengthening subsea capacity and reinforcing east coast backbones, Colt deepens its role in supporting transatlantic telecoms traffic in the AI era.