RETN opens eighth Sofia PoP at Neterra data centre

RETN now runs eight points of presence in Sofia after switching on a new PoP inside Neterra's Sofia Data Centre (SDC), a build-out that has simultaneously converted the Bulgarian carrier itself into a new RETN IP Transit customer.

The deal, announced by the network service provider, ties Neterra's network into RETN's international backbone, which stretches across Europe and Asia. For RETN, the new site adds capacity and connectivity options in a city the company describes as an important hub for internet traffic in Southeast Europe. For the wider market, it opens another route by which carriers, service providers, content providers and enterprises can reach major markets on both continents.

What does the expansion actually change?

The headline number is eight: with the SDC location live, RETN now operates eight on-net PoPs in the Bulgarian capital. That footprint matters because Sofia sits at a natural crossroads for regional traffic, and every additional on-net site shortens the path — and typically the cost — for local players reaching Western European and Asian exchanges.

The commercial substance sits in the customer relationship, not the rack space. Neterra, an established Bulgarian telecom and data centre operator, has bought IP Transit from RETN rather than simply hosting its equipment. In practice this gives Neterra a second, independent transport path toward Europe and Asia, which is the core argument for the deal on Neterra's side.

Neither party disclosed the value of the contract, the capacity purchased, or a delivery timeline for the transit service. Those gaps are routine in carrier-to-carrier announcements, but they mean the size of the commercial win cannot be independently gauged from the statement.

What the operators said

RETN Commercial Director Betina Pavlova framed the move in regional terms. "Sofia is an important connectivity hub for Southeast Europe, and expanding our presence here enables us to better serve customers across the region," she said.

"We're pleased to welcome Neterra as a new IP Transit customer and to connect them to RETN's international backbone. This expansion strengthens our network in Southeast Europe and gives customers across the region and beyond more connectivity options," Pavlova added.

Neterra's side of the bargain is about redundancy, not raw speed. Dean Belev, Senior Product Manager of Connectivity at Neterra, put the case plainly: "Route diversity makes a network dependable. With RETN, we gain another independent path to Europe and Asia, which means more resilient connectivity for our customers across the region."

That reasoning carries weight in a market where Southeast European operators have spent the past two years re-examining path diversity after repeated submarine and terrestrial cable incidents exposed how concentrated some European and intercontinental routes remain.

A pattern of incremental builds

The Sofia opening fits RETN's recent pattern of steady, market-by-market footprint growth rather than headline infrastructure programmes. The company has previously announced expanded routes between the UK and continental Europe, including a new London–Brussels path, and continues to add on-net sites in secondary hubs where carrier demand for diverse transit is rising.

For Neterra, the agreement extends a strategy of multi-homing: buying transit from more than one international backbone so that a single upstream failure does not isolate its customers. Route diversity of this kind is now a standard procurement requirement for carriers selling to enterprises and content players who cannot tolerate outages.

What the announcement does not include is any quantified commitment — no capacity figures in gigabits, no contract duration, and no stated plan for further PoPs in Bulgaria or the wider region. The strengthened presence, on the evidence published, amounts to one new site and one new transit customer.

RETN says the expansion gives it more capacity and connectivity options in Sofia going forward, but the company has set out no further investment figures or rollout milestones for Southeast Europe beyond the SDC deployment now in service.