Sparkle extends its IP backbone into Istanbul and Bucharest

Telecom Italia Sparkle has announced that the reach of SEABONE, its global 1.5Tbps IP backbone, has been extended to Bucharest (Romania) and Istanbul (Turkey). SEABONE now offers its suite of IP connectivity solutions to the local Balkan and international communities of ISPs, ASPs and content providers who are actively developing their businesses in the fast-growing markets of Romania and Turkey.

Sparkle operates in Turkey through Mediterranean Nautilus (MedNautilus), its wholly-owned subsidiary, which runs a unique, ring-based topology submarine cable system in the Mediterranean Basin. MedNautilus has constructed an advanced Telehouse and Data Centre facility in Istanbul, located in Yenibosna, which currently offers hosting services as well as IP transit and connectivity solutions. Additionally, SDH/DWDM services are scheduled for launch in 2010.

‘We believe that today we have set an important milestone in our expansion plans into Central and Eastern Europe by entering two of the most promising markets of this region’ said Francesco Armato, CEO of Telecom Italia Sparkle. ‘The local availability of our top-performing global IP and data solutions in Turkey and Romania will benefit both existing and future customers in these countries, by satisfying their increasing and sophisticated connectivity needs. This move complements SEABONE’s continued successful growth in the Southern Balkan region as well as its undisputed leadership position throughout the whole Mediterranean basin’.