Lancom & Evolink Create a New Greece–Bulgaria Connectivity Corridor via Balkan Gate
Lancom announces a new strategic partnership with Evolink, one of Bulgaria’s most established providers of telecommunications, Data Center, CDN and Cloud services. The agreement expands the footprint of both companies and establishes a new high-capacity connectivity corridor between Greece and Bulgaria, further strengthening connectivity across Southeast Europe.
As part of the agreement, Lancom will establish a new Point of Presence (PoP) at Evolink’s Data Center in Sofia, while Evolink will establish a corresponding presence at Balkan Gate in Thessaloniki, the largest carrier-neutral Data Center in Northern Greece. This mutual presence connects the networks of the two companies, creating the conditions for more direct routes, faster access to new markets and greater flexibility in the design of regional digital infrastructure.
At the same time, Evolink will connect to NetIX Greece with 100G capacity, further strengthening the international dimension and cross-border reach of the Internet Exchange.
NetIX Greece is the first and only distributed Internet Exchange in Greece, with interconnected PoPs in Athens, Thessaloniki, Heraklion and Chania. Regardless of the PoP through which a member connects, it can seamlessly exchange traffic across the entire NetIX Greece network, gaining nationwide and cross-border reach through a single connection. NetIX Greece has surpassed 40 connected networks and 350 Gbps of traffic, while already developing a clear international footprint, with members from neighbouring markets including Turkey, among them TurkNet and Türksat, as well as Bulgaria and Serbia.
Lancom’s new PoP at Evolink’s Data Center further expands its international footprint and establishes a new access point for its Remote IXP service in Sofia. Through Lancom’s proprietary fiber network, providers, enterprises and digital platforms in Bulgaria will be able to connect locally and, through a single connection, exchange traffic with all members of NetIX Greece, without requiring their own physical presence in Greece.
With Evolink joining Balkan Gate, the facility now hosts more than 50 networks, a record number for a Data Center in Greece. Further significant developments are also expected to be announced in the coming period, strengthening its interconnection ecosystem and further establishing Balkan Gate as the most pivotal telecommunications hub in the Balkans.
“Our partnership with Lancom is an important step in expanding Evolink’s regional infrastructure and strengthening our presence in Southeast Europe. We are seeing growing demand for high-capacity Ethernet connectivity as businesses, service providers and digital platforms require more direct, resilient and predictable connections between key markets. At the same time, establishing our presence in Greece supports the continued expansion of Evolink’s CDN footprint, bringing content closer to end users and improving service performance across the region. By combining Evolink’s network capabilities with Lancom’s strong infrastructure presence in Greece, we are creating a stronger and more resilient connectivity ecosystem between Bulgaria, Greece and the wider Southeast European market,” said Svetoslav Hristov, CEO of Evolink.
“This partnership confirms a reality that is becoming increasingly clear on the digital infrastructure map; for networks seeking connectivity to the Balkans, Thessaloniki is not just an alternative to Athens, but the most direct and strategically clear choice. Balkan Gate was designed precisely around this logic. Not simply as a Data Center that hosts networks, but as the infrastructure where Greece, the Balkans and major European networks converge. Balkan Gate’s geographic position, high concentration of networks, growing presence of international CDNs and expanding cross-border infrastructure are shaping an ecosystem where content can be hosted and distributed from Thessaloniki, closer to users across the region, without traffic having to follow the unnecessary and geographically longer route through Athens. Evolink’s presence and the new direct connectivity corridor to Sofia further strengthen Balkan Gate’s role as a key interconnection hub, contributing to its ongoing evolution into a natural entry point to the Balkans and Central and Eastern Europe, and a gateway for Balkan networks towards Greece, the Mediterranean and Western Europe.” added George Nolis, CEO of Lancom.
