Interoute Communications

Interoute Communications Ltd was a privately held telecommunications company that operated one of Europe's largest independent fiber networks and cloud service platforms. Founded in 1995 by John Mittens, the London-based company initially focused on connecting Europe's major business hubs. Following the telecoms sector collapse in 2001, the company was restructured under a team led by Chairman and CEO James Kinsella to concentrate on network and internet services. Gareth Williams later served as CEO from 2007, leading a significant transformation and expansion of the company's services until its acquisition.

The company's core business involved providing an extensive portfolio of services including connectivity (MPLS, Ethernet), colocation, Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), voice, and security solutions. Its primary clients included enterprises, government bodies, national telecom operators, and internet content providers. Interoute's business model was centered on leveraging its vast infrastructure to offer these integrated services. By the time of its sale, its network spanned approximately 72,000 km of fiber connecting 126 cities across 29 countries, and included 15 data centers, 17 virtual data centers, and 51 colocation facilities.

A significant milestone in the company's history was its acquisition by GTT Communications for approximately €1.9 billion ($2.3 billion). The deal, announced in February 2018 and closed in May 2018, integrated Interoute's substantial European network and cloud platform into GTT's global Tier 1 IP network. This acquisition significantly augmented GTT's scale, client base, and service capabilities, particularly in the European market. The assets acquired from Interoute were later sold by GTT to I Squared Capital and became part of EXA Infrastructure in 2021.

Keywords: pan-European network, cloud services platform, fiber optic network, colocation services, IaaS, PaaS, telecommunications infrastructure, enterprise networking, data centers, managed hosting, connectivity solutions, voice over IP, network security, MPLS, Ethernet, GTT Communications, digital transformation, submarine cable systems, unified communications, wholesale bandwidth