Grupo Aire opens a point of presence at the Barcelona Cable Landing Station

Grupo Aire, a group of leading technology solutions companies, announces the opening of a new point of presence (PoP) at the Barcelona Cable Landing Station (Barcelona CLS), the neutral digital port of Barcelona, located in Sant Adrià de Besòs and a centre of interconnection in the Mediterranean. With this, Grupo Aire will provide major carriers with access to international routes, connecting them with the rest of the world through Barcelona. It also becomes a reference provider for connectivity services in the Marseille-Barcelona-Madrid-Lisbon corridor, with its own end-to-end network.

The Meta submarine cable (2Africa) lands in Europe at Barcelona and Lisbon. In this sense, the Barcelona CLS is the already activated mooring point and will be the point of interconnection and entry for various international companies and carriers. Barcelona, aiming to become the new digital hub of the Mediterranean, is one of the three access points to Europe, along with Lisbon and Marseille.

Grupo Aire’s presence at this international submarine cable landing station is strategic as it positions the group of companies as one of the few operators with a presence at the three aforementioned European mooring points. This fact is of particular relevance since the company has its own network throughout the Iberian Peninsula, and having its own infrastructure to provision end-to-end services gives it the ability to manage “n x 400 GB” capacity services comprehensively, without relying on third parties.

The opening of this point of presence allows the company to position itself as a preferred partner for major carriers to meet their capacity service needs and adds value to its entire Iberian network, which is strongly connected to Europe and major market operators.

Currently, Barcelona CLS, owned by AFR-IX Telecom, is the mooring point for two submarine cable systems: 2Africa and Medloop. The station has the capacity to accommodate up to eight submarine cables, and it is expected to host Medusa in 2024.

Grupo Aire, a group of leading technology solutions companies, has decided to establish a presence at the Barcelona CLS due to the connectivity needs arising from the establishment of this new station. It is worth noting that Grupo Aire already has an international presence in Marseille and Lisbon, with plans to open a new neutral data center in the latter.

“Aire’s presence at the Barcelona CLS represents a significant step forward for the company in its international development strategy,” says Raúl Aledo, CEO of Grupo Aire. “With this addition, Grupo Aire becomes one of the leading providers of terrestrial connectivity solutions from this landing station to the most important data centres on the Iberian Peninsula and to other submarine cable landing stations in the region. Furthermore, Aire’s infrastructure and services will enable the Barcelona Cable Landing Station to have robust and diversified connectivity to the leading digital centers in Europe (FLAP), as well as to all the other submarine cable landing stations in Portugal, Spain, and France (Marseille).”
Norman Albi, CEO of Barcelona CLS and AFR-IX telecom, comments on the agreement with Grupo Aire: “Since we inaugurated the landing station just four months ago, we have seen how it has become an attractive hub for the most important operators in the sector. With the entry of Grupo Aire, the project is further consolidated so that the Barcelona CLS becomes a reference port in the Mediterranean.”

Grupo Aire’s international connectivity capacity, which was already expanded in 2022 with the addition of a new point of presence in Marseille, is further strengthened with this opening at the Barcelona CLS. With this action, the group reaffirms its position as one of the most significant players in the high digital connectivity landscape in Southern Europe, and as a key player in the high demand for connectivity driven by the presence of hyperscalers and traditional carriers.