Both PoPs are interconnected and linked to the RETN Eurasian network by circuits running through Russia and Bulgaria. Redundancy is provided by a backup route through the Black Sea. Currently delivering L2 VPN services in the new markets, the PoPs will soon be able to deliver the full RETN product suite.
At the end of 2019, RETN opened an office in the Georgian capital Tbilisi and registered an entity in Armenian capital Yerevan.
“Having established its presence in Tbilisi and Yerevan, RETN has started to provide seamless direct access to the RETN network to companies that are developing their business in Armenia, Georgia and bordering territories,” said Andrey Kuznetsov, director of business development at RETN and MD of the new entities
“The countries in the Caucasus area are gaining in economic importance due to their beneficial geographical position between Europe and Asia. Opening up the new markets on our network, we are better positioned to support the growing number of requests from our customers in and to this region. From a technical and commercial perspective, we are ready to respond to the interests of global enterprises in improved connectivity between Europe and the Middle East,” Kuznetsov added.
The network service provider currently connects 39 countries across three continents through more than 300 on-net PoPs.
The new geographic focus followed RETN’s work across Asia last year, which saw the expansion of its footprint with the launch of new PoPs in Taiwan and Tokyo
The site in Taipei, Taiwan was located at Chief LY data centre, giving access to RETN’s global network and service portfolio, which comprises of IP transit, Ethernet and colocation. In addition, the company will also establish an entity is Taiwan to give Taiwanese companies local billing and support options.
In Tokyo, the company deployed two new sites: Equinix TY4, @Tokyo CC1 and BB Tower. These new facilities complement RETN’s existing point of presence at Equinix TY2. They were linked by a metro dark fibre ring, which is run on an Infinera DWDM platform overlaid with the Juniper IP platform.
Talking about the most recent PoP’s, Vage Bekchian, commercial director for RETN in Georgia and Armenia, said: “The fact that we already have our first customers to connect is very encouraging and gives us reassurance about the bright perspective of further active developments in the Caucasus. We strive to keep the same high level of service quality, implementation speed and local market knowledge, as we proved these factors to be our main competitive advantages in all territories where we provide our services.”
