Arteria

What Arteria does

Arteria is a French wholesale telecommunications operator and a wholly-owned subsidiary of RTE (Réseau de Transport d'Électricité), the state-owned manager of France's high-voltage electricity grid. Created in 2002 following French government authorization to leverage the electricity transmission network for broadband, the company commercializes telecom services built on RTE's existing physical infrastructure: approximately 25,000-27,000 km of fiber-optic cables deployed along high-voltage power lines (95% aerial routing), nearly 3,000 electrical substations, and over 70,000 eligible pylons and posts. Operations are headquartered in La Défense (Courbevoie) and span roughly 40 French departments, with cross-border fiber extending into Andorra and overseas-territory fiber reaching French Guiana.

Arteria's technical platform — branded "Air Force WAN" — is a DWDM optical transport network with Nokia PSE coherent optics and P-OTN switching, deployed across ~90 technical sites and capable of record 1 Tb/s transmission over 500 km. The product portfolio has four pillars: (1) Fibre Optique Noire (dark fiber leasing) for telecom operators, local authorities, and enterprises; (2) Fibre Optique Activée / Arteria Waves (activated fiber with managed wavelengths from 10G to 800G, plus Alien Lambda and Spectrum sub-products) for carriers, cloud providers, and large enterprises; (3) Points Hauts (hosting of mobile network antennas on RTE pylons for 4G/5G/IoT); and (4) Hébergement (outdoor cabinets, shelters, and purpose-built hosting at substations targeting edge cloud and regional data centers). Security features include quantum-safe encryption at the optical layer and 24/7 national supervision from a dedicated surveillance center.

The business model is B2B and infrastructure-as-a-service: revenue is generated through recurring subscription, rental, and managed-service contracts priced via custom quote (no public pricing), sold primarily through direct enterprise sales teams to telecom operators (SFR, Bouygues Telecom, Free Mobile, Orange, TDF, Andorra Telecom, Axione), government and research networks (RENATER), energy operators (EDF), and French regional and departmental authorities (e.g., Aisne, Morbihan, Corsica, Lozère). Distribution channels combine direct field sales with ecosystem partnerships — notably Nokia as core technology partner and data-center operators (Etix Everywhere, Euclyde, Ikoula, Digital Realty) as Points of Presence hosts — and are reinforced through industry events (Capacity Europe, FRnOG, FRNIX, Network X, IT Partners). Certifiable compliance includes GDPR/RGPD and the French Sapin 2 anti-corruption framework.

Name

Arteria

Legal name

ARTERIA

Website

https://arteria.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Arteria is a French wholesale telecom operator and subsidiary of RTE that commercializes dark fiber, managed wavelengths (10G-800G), pylon-based tower hosting, and substation hosting, leveraging the high-voltage electricity grid's 25,000+ km aerial fiber and 70,000+ pylons to serve telecom carriers, cloud providers, and local authorities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Telecommunications Infrastructure Services

NAICS

Wired and Wireless Telecommunications Carriers (except Satellite) (51711)

SIC

Radiotelephone Communications (4812)

akta.pro primary industry

Wholesale Wavelength, Spectrum & Dark Fiber Providers (IRU/Leases) (HDAIALAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Real Estate, Leasing & Colocation Management (Landlords/REITs) (HDAIAKAJ), Tower Operations & Maintenance (Field Services) (HDAIAKAF)

Keywords

• Dark fiber services
• Wavelength services
• Telecom infrastructure
• Tower site hosting
• Edge data hosting

Headquarters

HQ city

La Défense

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Dark Fiber (Fibre Optique Noire): Leasing of unused fiber optic capacity on RTE's transport network to telecom operators, local authorities, and enterprises for their own network infrastructure.
2. Activated Fiber Services (Waves/Spectrum): Wavelength services (10G-800G) providing ultra-high bandwidth connectivity with service level agreements. Includes Alien Lambda and Spectrum offerings for enterprise and carrier customers.
3. Tower Sites (Points Hauts): Hosting mobile antenna equipment on RTE's 70,000+ pylons and electrical posts for telecom operators (4G/5G, WiMax, TNT, IoT). Revenue from site rental and installation services.
4. Hosting Services: Data center hosting solutions including outdoor bays, shelters, and permanent buildings at electrical substations. Supports Edge Cloud and regional data storage/treatment needs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Arteria is a French telecom operator that sells wholesale telecom infrastructure built on RTE's high-voltage electricity transmission network. It offers four product lines: (1) Dark Fiber (Fibre Optique Noire) leased on 25,000+ km of aerial fiber deployed along power lines, (2) Activated Fiber / Arteria Waves delivering DWDM wavelength services from 10G up to 800G (with a 1Tb/s demonstration), (3) Tower Hosting (Points Hauts) for mobile antennas on 70,000+ RTE pylons, and (4) Edge Hosting (Hébergement) at electrical substations. Customers include telecom operators (SFR, Bouygues Telecom, Free Mobile, Orange), cloud providers, and French local authorities.

Product overview

Arteria operates as a telecom operator offering four interconnected core services built on RTE's electricity transmission infrastructure. The product portfolio centers on (1) Fibre Optique Noire - dark fiber for private network connections, (2) Fibre Optique Activée (Arteria Waves) - activated fiber with DWDM wavelength services up to 1Tb/s, (3) Points Hauts - tower/pylon hosting for mobile antennae, and (4) Hébergement - edge data center hosting. The 'Arteria Waves' sub-portfolio includes Alien Lambda and Spectrum offerings. All services leverage RTE's 25,000+ km of aerial fiber and 3,000 electrical substations to provide unique route diversity, low latency, and sovereignty benefits unavailable on traditional terrestrial networks.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Arteria Waves: Activated fiber optic service offering ultra high bandwidth connections from 10G to 1Tb/s with low latency.
• Air Force WAN

Products and services

• Fibre Optique Noire (Dark Fiber) Leasing of unused fiber optic capacity on RTE's aerial fiber network deployed along high-voltage power lines, enabling telecom operators, local authorities, and enterprises to operate their own private network infrastructure across France with unique route diversity.
• Arteria Waves (Fibre Optique Activée / Activated Fiber Wavelength Services) Activated wavelength and DWDM services offering bandwidth from 10G to 800G (with a record 1Tb/s demonstrated) on the Air Force WAN network. Includes Waves (full managed wavelengths), Alien Lambda (use of customer equipment on Arteria transport), and Spectrum (customer-activated wavelengths over Arteria infrastructure), targeting telecom operators, cloud providers, and large enterprises needing ultra-high-bandwidth transport with low latency and quantum-safe encryption.
• Points Hauts (Tower Infrastructure) Hosting of mobile network antenna equipment (4G/5G, WiMax, TNT, IoT) on RTE's 70,000+ pylons and electrical posts, enabling telecom operators to expand mobile coverage — particularly in rural and underserved areas — without the need to build new towers or undertake new civil works.
• Hébergement (Hosting) Data center and edge cloud hosting solutions provided at RTE electrical substations, including outdoor bays, shelters, and permanent buildings, supporting regional data storage/processing and Edge Cloud needs for cloud providers, enterprises, and local authorities.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1 Tb/s transmission over 500+ km between Lyon and Toulouse
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor, flagship and core.

• Digital RealtyminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 6 May 2026Event partnership for FRNIX aPEERo 025 in Marseille. Digital Realty hosts the event at MRS3 data center, with Arteria as supporting partner for the peering and interconnection community event.
• IkoulaflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 February 2025Strategic partnership to enhance data center resilience. Arteria provides access to Air Force WAN network and wavelength services (10G-800G) from Ikoula's Reims data center (IKDC1). First PoP of Arteria's network in the Marne region, providing diversified connectivity for Ikoula's cloud infrastructure with new link between Reims and Paris.
• EuclydecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 November 2023Partnership for inauguration of Arteria's Lyon POP at Euclyde DC5 data center. First regional Point of Presence in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, offering aerial route diversity for DWDM long-distance networks.
• NokiacoreTechnology or Integration · 27 September 2023Strategic partnership for deploying Air Force WAN optical network using Nokia's DWDM technology, P-OTN switching platforms, and PSE coherent optics. Nokia provides equipment for ~90 technical sites enabling the national network loop with services from 10G to 800G (demonstrated up to 1Tb/s).
• Etix EverywherecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 September 2023Partnership for inaugural Lille-Paris ultra-high-speed link at ETIX Lille #1 data center. Etix provides Point of Presence for Arteria's first regional POP in Northern France for Arteria Waves DWDM services.
• Layer1 (Laurent Guiraud)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 12 September 2023Expert consultation for Lille-Paris inauguration event. Laurent Guiraud, Founder of Layer1 and Optical Transmission Expert, provided insights on challenges for optimal long-distance network performance.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Axione: French public-initiative network operator and infrastructure builder for territorial connectivity, working with regional councils. Both partner with French collectivities to deliver fiber coverage; functional overlap with Arteria's PIN/smart-village project work.
• Sipartech: French wholesale dark fiber and wavelength carrier serving operators, OTTs, and enterprises, with its own fiber backbone. Direct overlap with Arteria's Fibre Optique Noire and Arteria Waves services in France.
• Colt Technology Services: European B2B fiber operator providing wavelength and high-bandwidth enterprise services similar to Arteria Waves. Comparable in service mix (lit fiber, wavelengths, low-latency routes) and customer base (carriers, enterprises, cloud providers).
• Zayo Group: Pan-European and North American wholesale fiber operator offering dark fiber, wavelengths, and spectrum services to carriers and enterprises. Closely comparable to Arteria's activated fiber and wavelength products at the wholesale carrier-to-carrier level.
• TDF (TDF SAS): French operator of tower and broadcast infrastructure that hosts mobile and broadcast antennas, similar to Arteria's Points Hauts business. Both monetize passive infrastructure (towers/pylons) for MNOs and broadcasters under long-term lease arrangements in France.

Broad incumbents

• Cellnex Telecom: Europe's largest independent tower operator with a multi-country passive-infrastructure portfolio (DAS, towers). Comparable to Arteria's tower/pylon hosting in that both lease passive sites to MNOs; Cellnex is much larger and geographic-diversified while Arteria is France-only.

Others

• Interxion / Digital Realty: European data center operator; partner on Marseille peering event (FRNIX aPEERo). Interconnect and hosting adjacency to Arteria's hosting and POP strategy.
• Etix Everywhere: European edge data center operator; partners with Arteria for POPs at ETIX Lille. Comparable in the hosting/edge segment Arteria addresses at its electrical substations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/arteriatelecom
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/arteria-telecom

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Arteria