Neterra and RETN Partner to Expand Network Connectivity Across Europe and Asia

RETN has expanded its network footprint in Southeast Europe by establishing a new Point of Presence (PoP) at Neterra’s Sofia Data Center (SDC). For fintech firms and service providers, this move enhances cross-border connectivity and route diversity between Europe and Asia, solidifying Sofia’s position as a critical interconnection hub for regional financial traffic.

What was announced

RETN, a global network service provider, has launched its eighth on-net PoP in Sofia, Bulgaria. This expansion specifically targets the Sofia Data Center (SDC) operated by Neterra. As part of this strategic move, Neterra has signed on as a new RETN IP Transit customer, gaining direct access to RETN’s international backbone and its extensive network across Europe and Asia.

The integration provides Neterra with additional international routes for traffic moving between major markets. For RETN, the new PoP increases capacity and connectivity options within the Balkan region, which serves as a key interconnection hub. The service is designed to support a broad range of clients, including carriers, internet service providers (ISPs), content providers, and large enterprises that require scalable IP Transit and diverse routes to European and Eurasian markets.

The technical benefits of the expansion focus on scalability and resilience. By adding SDC to its network, RETN offers diverse routes that allow traffic to reach major markets over multiple independent paths. For Neterra’s existing customer base across Southeast Europe, the connection introduces greater route diversity, which is essential for maintaining uptime in high-stakes digital environments where network reliability is a prerequisite for service delivery. The addition of SDC reinforces the Bulgarian capital’s role within RETN's regional network infrastructure.

The companies involved

RETN is an independent global network service provider that operates an extensive international backbone. The company focuses on providing high-capacity connectivity solutions across Europe and Asia, positioning itself as a primary bridge for data traffic between the two continents. Its infrastructure is designed to support the heavy bandwidth requirements of modern digital services and wholesale carrier needs. RETN’s network footprint is characterized by its independence and its ability to offer scalable IP Transit and diverse routing options across major international markets.

Neterra is a prominent telecommunications provider based in Bulgaria, operating the Sofia Data Center (SDC). The company serves a diverse clientele of carriers, ISPs, and enterprises throughout Southeast Europe. Neterra provides a range of connectivity and data center services, and its portfolio includes NetIX, a global platform for Layer 2 Ethernet exchange. By hosting RETN’s infrastructure, Neterra reinforces its role as a regional gateway, facilitating international data flow through its facilities in Sofia. Both companies operate as independent entities within the competitive European telecommunications landscape, focusing on infrastructure-led growth to meet the increasing demand for resilient and low-latency network services in the Balkan region.

What this means

The expansion of RETN into Neterra’s facility highlights the growing importance of the Balkans as a strategic corridor for global data. As financial services increasingly rely on low-latency, high-resilience connections to bridge Western European markets with emerging Eurasian economies, hubs like Sofia are becoming indispensable. This move puts pressure on traditional Western European transit hubs to maintain their competitive edge against more direct, eastern-focused routes. For the fintech sector, improved route diversity in Southeast Europe reduces the systemic risk of regional outages and provides the necessary infrastructure for more sophisticated cross-border digital payment and trading platforms.