IslaLink
IslaLink is a Madrid-based neutral wholesale fiber infrastructure provider operating submarine and terrestrial fiber systems across Spain, Italy, Greece and Bulgaria, offering wholesale capacity, dark fibre, and co-location services to telecom operators, ISPs, and content/cloud providers under long-term contracts.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2001
- HeadquartersMadrid, Spain
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
IslaLink firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- IslaLink
- Legal name
- Islalink Holding, S.L.
- Website
- https://islalink.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2001
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- IslaLink is a Madrid-based neutral wholesale fiber infrastructure provider operating submarine and terrestrial fiber systems across Spain, Italy, Greece and Bulgaria, offering wholesale capacity, dark fibre, and co-location services to telecom operators, ISPs, and content/cloud providers under long-term contracts.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
IslaLink industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Submarine Fiber Infrastructure
- NAICS
- Wired Telecommunications Carriers (517111), Wired and Wireless Telecommunications Carriers (except Satellite) (51711)
- SIC
- Communications Services, Nec (4899)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Subsea Cable System Owners & Consortia (Wet Plant Investment) (HDAIALAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Subsea & Terrestrial Backhaul to Data Centers and Cloud On-Ramps (IX/DC Interconnect) (HDAIALAJ), Subsea Capacity Wholesale (IRUs, leased capacity, backhaul to landing stations) (HDAIAEAI), Wholesale Wavelength, Spectrum & Dark Fiber Providers (IRU/Leases) (HDAIALAI), Cross-Border Terrestrial Fiber Corridors & International Terrestrial Gateways (HDAIALAH)
Keywords
Where IslaLink is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Madrid
- HQ country
- Spain
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices12 records
Markets served
IslaLink business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Wholesale Capacity and Spectrum Services: IslaLink offers wholesale capacity, managed and unmanaged optical spectrum services to telecommunications operators, ISPs, content providers, and cloud services providers. These are backbone connectivity services sold on a wholesale basis to carriers.
- Dark Fibre Leasing: Dark fibre offered under regular lease or IRU (Indefeasible Right of Use) contracts for 10 to 25 years, providing wholesale customers with dedicated fiber infrastructure.
- Co-location Services: Co-location services at Cable Landing Stations (CLSs) in Valencia, Palma de Mallorca, Ibiza, Crotone and Preveza, and at the Madrid Data Center (Barajas). Services include long-term rentals, separate room/cabin options with own control system access, cross-connections through meet-me rooms, and carrier-class co-location space for digital players.
- Terrestrial Backhaul and Fiber Ring Services: Terrestrial fiber networks extending from submarine cable landing stations to main cities, including the Mallorca Ring. Provides lit fiber services and redundant point-to-multipoint services across island and mainland routes.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
IslaLink product offering
Product offeringCore offering
IslaLink builds and operates submarine and terrestrial fiber optic cable systems and sells wholesale capacity, optical spectrum, and dark fibre to telecommunications operators, ISPs, and content/cloud providers. Its infrastructure — including the IONIAN Italy-Greece-Bulgaria submarine system, the Balalink Spain-Balearics system, the Mallorca Ring terrestrial network, and Cable Landing Station/Data Center co-location facilities — is offered on a neutral, independent basis under long-term contracts (10–25 years) such as IRU agreements, serving as backbone connectivity between underserved Mediterranean and Eastern European routes.
Product overview
IslaLink is a neutral, independent wholesale fiber infrastructure provider that builds and operates submarine and terrestrial fiber cable systems. The portfolio consists of three main sub-brands: IONIAN (submarine/terrestrial system connecting Italy-Greece-Bulgaria), Balalink (submarine system serving the Balearic Islands), and Mallorca Ring (terrestrial fiber network on Mallorca). These infrastructure systems are complemented by Data Center & Co-location Services at cable landing stations and data centers across Spain, Italy, and Greece. The company serves wholesale customers including telecom operators, ISPs, and content/cloud providers, offering dark fibre, optical spectrum, and capacity services.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- IONIAN: Submarine and terrestrial fiber optic system connecting Italy (Crotone) with Greece (Preveza, Athens, Thessaloniki), extended to Milan and Rome in Italy and Sofia in Bulgaria. Offers wholesale capacity, optical spectrum and dark fibre.
- Balalink
- Mallorca Ring
Products and services
- IONIAN Submarine Cable System A submarine and terrestrial fiber optic system connecting Athens, Thessaloniki (Greece), Sofia (Bulgaria), Milan and Rome (Italy), via a 320 km submarine cable between Crotone and Preveza with 24 fiber pairs. Offers wholesale capacity, optical spectrum, and dark fibre to telecom operators and content/cloud providers on a new diverse high-capacity route between Western Europe and Greece/Bulgaria.
- Balalink Submarine Cable System A submarine fiber optic cable system in operation since 2001 connecting Peninsular Spain (Valencia) with Mallorca and Ibiza islands, providing three routes to Mallorca and two routes to Ibiza with 100% network availability since inception, complemented by terrestrial backhaul fiber networks extending the landing stations to main cities.
- Mallorca Ring Terrestrial Fiber Network A 300 km terrestrial fiber ring in Mallorca connecting Palma with Manacor, Muro, Sa Pobla, Inca, Sóller, Consell, Sineu, Petra, Villafranca, Montuiri, Santa Ponça and the Parcbit technology park, with northern (50 km, 7 locations) and southern (200 km, 14 locations) extensions offering protected point-to-multipoint services for local operators.
- Data Center and Cable Landing Station Co-location Services Carrier-class co-location services at IslaLink's Madrid (Barajas) Data Center and Cable Landing Stations in Valencia, Palma de Mallorca, Ibiza, Crotone and Preveza, including long-term rentals, separate room/cabin options with own control system access, cross-connections through meet-me rooms with 20+ Tier-1 operators and carriers, redundant power (dual generators, UPS, 4-hour battery autonomy), 24/7 monitoring, and secure interconnection.
Quantifiable outcome
- 360 Tbps total potential capacity on the IONIAN system (24 fiber pairs × 15 Tbps per pair)
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use IslaLink
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
IslaLink technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature6 records
IslaLink partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- AxentcoreStrategic partnership to provide high-capacity and resilient connectivity services to the wholesale market through a joint South Europe Connectivity & Colocation platform. The partnership enables interconnection of both companies' terrestrial and subsea infrastructure for robust DC-to-DC connectivity, colocation services within 4 Cable Landing Stations (Crotone, Preveza, Valencia and Palma de Mallorca), and edge data centers including Axent's Zaragoza data center and Islalink's Madrid (Barajas) data center. Joint services include high-capacity wavelength services, scalable capacity solutions, and tailored infrastructure solutions backed by carrier-grade SLAs.
- NokiacoreTechnology partnership for submarine cable transmission testing. Successfully tested Nokia's sixth-generation Photonic Service Engine (PSE-6s) over the 330km IONIAN submarine cable between Crotone, Italy and Preveza, Greece, setting a new capacity-reach record for 800Gbps transmission.
- GRNOG (Greek Network Operators Group)minorIslaLink supports and actively participates in GRNOG, a community of professionals involved in the design, implementation, provisioning and operation of Greek Internet services, networks and infrastructure. IslaLink aligns with the goals of GRNOG and shares experiences seeking technical excellence through engagement with professionals of different backgrounds.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
IslaLink competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- EllaLink: EllaLink operates the submarine cable system directly connecting Europe (Sines/Portugal and Madrid) with Latin America (Brazil). IslaLink co-developed and previously operated EllaLink. Both are independent subsea system operators serving wholesale carriers and content providers with similar long-term IRU commercial models.
- Aqua Comms: Aqua Comms operates dedicated subsea cable systems in the North Atlantic (AEC-1, AEC-2, Havfrue/AEC-3) connecting the US with Europe. Like IslaLink, it focuses on independent, carrier-neutral wholesale capacity, dark fiber, and spectrum for carriers, content providers, and hyperscalers.
- EXA Infrastructure: EXA Infrastructure owns and operates one of the largest dedicated European fiber networks, including subsea cable capacity between key European hubs. It sells wholesale capacity, wavelengths, and dark fiber to carriers and hyperscalers under long-term contracts, competing directly with IslaLink on European backbone routes.
- euNetworks: euNetworks is a Western European bandwidth infrastructure company focused on long-haul fiber and metro networks serving carriers, content providers, and enterprises. It has overlapping Mediterranean and Iberian routes and a similar wholesale-focused business model, although without IslaLink's subsea ownership.
Broad incumbents
- Telxius: Telxius is the Telefónica-owned submarine cable and tower infrastructure unit operating systems such as BRUSA and Marea. Although vertically tied to Telefónica, it sells wholesale capacity to third-party carriers on similar subsea routes to IslaLink's Mediterranean footprint, including landing stations in Brazil and Southern Europe.
- Sparkle (TIM Group): Sparkle is TIM Group's international wholesale carrier, operating subsea cables such as Seabras-1 and MedNautilus across the Mediterranean. Although vertically tied to TIM, it competes with IslaLink for wholesale capacity and IRU business between Western Europe, Italy, and Greece.
- HGC Global Communications: HGC Global Communications is a Hong Kong-based fixed-line operator with international subsea cable interests and a wholesale carrier services division serving European and Asian routes. Comparable to IslaLink as an international subsea/wholesale operator selling capacity to third-party carriers.
- Zayo Group: Zayo operates a large independent fiber network across North America and Western Europe, offering wavelength, dark fiber, and capacity services to carriers and hyperscalers. It is comparable to IslaLink in business model and customer base, although it does not own subsea cable systems directly.
Emerging players
- Liberty Networks: Liberty Networks operates subsea cables serving the Caribbean, Latin America, and parts of Europe, including a wholesale dark fiber and capacity offering. It is comparable to IslaLink as a regional subsea operator targeting carrier and hyperscale customers with similar IRU-style contracts.
- RETN: RETN operates an extensive European and Asian IP transit and wholesale fiber network, including terrestrial fiber routes that interconnect with subsea cable systems at European landing stations. It competes with IslaLink for wholesale capacity and wavelength business between Western Europe and Eastern Europe.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
IslaLink social profiles
Digital presenceIslaLink compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance4 records
IslaLink financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
IslaLink leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
IslaLink funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
IslaLink M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about IslaLink
What does IslaLink do?
IslaLink builds and operates submarine and terrestrial fiber optic cable systems and sells wholesale capacity, optical spectrum, and dark fibre to telecommunications operators, ISPs, and content/cloud providers. Its infrastructure — including the IONIAN Italy-Greece-Bulgaria submarine system, the Balalink Spain-Balearics system, the Mallorca Ring terrestrial network, and Cable Landing Station/Data Center co-location facilities — is offered on a neutral, independent basis under long-term contracts (10–25 years) such as IRU agreements, serving as backbone connectivity between underserved Mediterranean and Eastern European routes.
Is IslaLink a public or private company?
IslaLink is a private company. It is classified as private equity controlled and is currently operating.
When was IslaLink founded?
IslaLink was founded in 2001. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is IslaLink based?
IslaLink is headquartered in Madrid, Spain, in the Europe region.
How does IslaLink make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Wholesale Capacity and Spectrum Services are the primary driver. The others are dark Fibre Leasing, co-location Services and terrestrial Backhaul and Fiber Ring Services.
Who are IslaLink's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are EllaLink, Aqua Comms, EXA Infrastructure and euNetworks. Broad incumbents are Telxius, Sparkle (TIM Group), HGC Global Communications and Zayo Group. Emerging players are Liberty Networks and RETN.
Does IslaLink have an API?
No public API is recorded for IslaLink.
What industry is IslaLink in?
IslaLink's product category is Submarine Fiber Infrastructure. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAIALAA, Subsea Cable System Owners & Consortia (Wet Plant Investment), with a secondary code of HDAIALAJ, Subsea & Terrestrial Backhaul to Data Centers and Cloud On-Ramps (IX/DC Interconnect). Its NAICS code is 517111 and its SIC code is 4899.