Crosslake Fibre

What Crosslake Fibre does

Crosslake Fibre is a privately-held international fibre-optic network services provider founded in 2016 and headquartered in Toronto, Canada, with additional offices in New York, London and Paris. The company constructs, owns and operates purpose-built terrestrial and subsea fibre infrastructure connecting key data centre and financial trading hubs across North America and Europe, operating 25+ Points of Presence. It was the first to deploy a submarine fibre-optic cable in the Great Lakes (Lake Ontario, completed 2019, 131 km initial route / 60 km submarine span) and the first new UK-to-France subsea cable in over two decades (CrossChannel Fibre, 550 km Slough-Paris route with 149 km subsea span, live December 2021).

Crosslake's product portfolio spans Dark Fibre, Metered Dark Fibre (a world-first usage-based dark fibre pricing model), Managed Spectrum, Lit Capacity (1Gbps to 400Gbps wavelengths scaling to 800Gbps), Ultra-Low Latency 'Velocity' services for electronic trading, Amplification-as-a-Service (managed inline amplification on long-haul routes) and Terabit Capacity (data-centre-to-data-centre connectivity on the Ciena 6500 platform with WaveLogic 5 Extreme, supporting up to 25Tbps total capacity). The technical edge sits in physically diverse, purpose-built subsea and terrestrial routes engineered for sub-5.5ms round-trip latency between London and Paris, 96 fibre-pair cable counts, and a managed-services layer that shifts operational burden away from the customer. Customers span financial services (TMX, Canadian Securities Exchange, brokerages, market data vendors), telecom operators and carriers (BSO, EXA Infrastructure, euNetworks, RETN, Telehouse), hyperscalers and AI organisations, and large enterprises.

Go-to-market is direct enterprise field sales with in-house customer support and custom engineering; the company does not use resellers or intermediaries. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed, structured around IRUs, multi-year subscriptions, monthly recurring capacity contracts and the Metered Dark Fibre usage-based model, with a 90-day trial period to de-risk customer onboarding. The company is backed by Tiger Infrastructure Partners (December 2017 investment) and is led by CEO Mike Cunningham, with CCO Fergus Innes and CTO Ben Cooke. Operational geographies are Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and France.

Name

Crosslake Fibre

Legal name

Crosslake Fibre

Website

https://crosslakefibre.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Crosslake Fibre is a privately-held network services provider that constructs, owns and operates purpose-built subsea and terrestrial fibre-optic infrastructure across North America and Europe, delivering dark fibre, wavelength capacity and ultra-low latency services to financial exchanges, telecom carriers, hyperscalers and large enterprises.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Telecom Network Infrastructure / Subsea Fibre Connectivity

NAICS

Wired Telecommunications Carriers (517111), Wired and Wireless Telecommunications Carriers (except Satellite) (51711), Wired and Wireless Telecommunications (except Satellite) (5171)

akta.pro primary industry

Subsea Cable System Owners & Consortia (Wet Plant Investment) (HDAIALAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cross-Border Terrestrial Fiber Corridors & International Terrestrial Gateways (HDAIALAH), Subsea & Terrestrial Backhaul to Data Centers and Cloud On-Ramps (IX/DC Interconnect) (HDAIALAJ), Wholesale Wavelength, Spectrum & Dark Fiber Providers (IRU/Leases) (HDAIALAI)

Keywords

• Dark fibre services
• Subsea fibre infrastructure
• Ultra-low latency networking
• Fibre optic connectivity
• Network capacity services

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices11 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Dark Fibre Services: Scalable, secure, diverse dark fibre infrastructure to carrier and enterprise customers. Includes traditional dark fibre leases and the innovative Metered Dark Fibre model that provides usage-based pricing for flexible commercial arrangements.
2. Capacity Services (Lit Capacity): Data transport between key data centres and PoPs at 400Gbps, 100Gbps, 10Gbps and 1Gbps line rates. Includes Terabit Capacity for hyperscale requirements with dedicated capacity, consistent latency, and physical route control.
3. Spectrum Services: Managed spectrum providing similar benefits to dark fibre while allowing customers to scale from zero to terabits. Customers are responsible for equipment at each end while Crosslake provides amplifiers.
4. Colocation Services: IT infrastructure expansion services in secure facilities without requiring customers to build their own infrastructure.
5. Amplification-as-a-Service: Managed service handling inline amplification for long-haul dark fibre customers, eliminating customer burden of remote site equipment management.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Crosslake Fibre constructs, owns and operates purpose-built subsea and terrestrial fibre-optic network infrastructure, selling dark fibre, Metered Dark Fibre (usage-based), Managed Spectrum, lit Capacity Services (1–400 Gbps, scaling to 800 Gbps), Ultra-Low Latency routes, Terabit Capacity, Amplification-as-a-Service, and Colocation to enterprise and carrier customers across North America and Europe. Its flagship routes are the Lake Ontario cable (Toronto–New York) and the CrossChannel subsea cable (UK–France), each providing physically diverse, ultra-low-latency connectivity with up to 25 Tbps of total capacity across 96 fibre pairs.

Product overview

Crosslake Fibre is an international network service provider offering a portfolio of physical fibre network infrastructure services. The core offerings include Dark Fibre (dedicated exclusive fibre pairs), Metered Dark Fibre (usage-based dark fibre pricing model), Managed Spectrum, and Lit Capacity services (400Gbps to 1Gbps). These are complemented by specialized services including Ultra-Low Latency/Velocity for financial services, Amplification-as-a-Service for managing inline amplifiers on long-haul routes, and Terabit Capacity for hyperscale bandwidth requirements. The company constructs, owns, and operates its own terrestrial and subsea fibre infrastructure spanning North America and Europe, connecting over 25 PoPs with physically diverse routes between key financial and data centre hubs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Under 5.5 ms round-trip latency between London and Paris on CrossChannel Fibre
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and strategic.

• Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 April 2024CSE selected Crosslake Fibre for a resilient infrastructure network solution for CSE's high-performance, low latency trading platform. The partnership features a state-of-the-art network solution adding resiliency between CSE's data centres in Toronto. The dark fibre route is fully diverse from existing fibre pathways, bolstering redundancy and low latency performance essential for the trading environment. Project was initiated and completed within a stringent timeline.
• RETNmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 13 July 2023RETN launched a new ultra-low latency connectivity route between London and Paris, built on the CrossChannel Fibre system. The 550 km route spans from Slough, bypasses central London, and across the English Channel. This enhances network redundancy and performance for latency-sensitive customers in finance, cloud, and enterprise sectors while strengthening Crosslake Fibre's presence as a key vendor of modern subsea infrastructure.
• euNetworksmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 28 March 2023euNetworks and Crosslake Fibre formed an exclusive partnership for the CrossChannel Fibre system to deliver ultra-low latency services between London and Madrid, tailored for the financial services community. The partnership gives euNetworks rights to offer dark fibre and latency-optimised connectivity over CrossChannel Fibre, extending the system's reach beyond Paris to Madrid via euNetworks' metro infrastructure.
• EXA InfrastructuremajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 17 May 2022EXA Infrastructure secured a single fibre-pair on the CrossChannel Fibre system to interconnect data centres between the UK and France. This adds a modern, high-fibre count, low-latency route to EXA's portfolio, incorporating a 149 km subsea span across the English Channel. Operating since December 2021, EXA leverages this capacity to broaden geographic reach and offer more route diversity.
• CologixcoreTechnology or Integration · 10 May 2022Crosslake Fibre established Points-of-Presence at Cologix data centres (TOR1 in Toronto and MTL3 in Montréal). Cologix TOR1 at 151 Front Street is a telecommunications core dense in carriers, cloud providers, and network ecosystems. The partnership provides direct access to Crosslake's high-capacity subsea network spanning across Lake Ontario to New York and Chicago, and enhances Montreal connectivity with access to 350+ networks and 200+ cloud providers.
• TelehousecoreTechnology or Integration · 24 March 2022Telehouse and Crosslake Fibre partnered to strengthen digital infrastructure between London and Paris. The partnership utilizes the CrossChannel subsea cable to create high-bandwidth, low-latency routes between data centres in both cities, particularly enhancing the Telehouse Paris campus. The CrossChannel cable delivers round-trip latency of under 5.5 ms.
• CienacoreTechnology or Integration · 8 September 2021Crosslake Fibre selected Ciena's 6500 Packet-Optical Platform with WaveLogic 5 Extreme for its CrossChannel Fibre system. The partnership provides advanced optical technology enabling high-capacity, low-latency connectivity with real-time capacity scaling capabilities via MCP and Liquid Spectrum tools. Ciena technology is also used in Terabit Capacity services.
• EquinixcoreTechnology or Integration · 13 July 2021Crosslake Fibre partnered with Equinix for the CrossChannel Fibre system, providing subsea cable with Equinix data centre terminations. CrossChannel connects Equinix LD4 in Slough (UK) with Equinix PA7 in Paris, and Crosslake established PoPs at Equinix NY4 and NY11 for Toronto-New York connectivity. This partnership provides strategic access to major financial trading ecosystems.
• Maple Leaf Fibre (Metro Optic, Utilities Kingston)strategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 July 2018Metro Optic, Crosslake Fibre, and Utilities Kingston collaborated to deliver a next-generation fibre cable system between Montréal and Toronto under the Maple Leaf Fibre initiative. The network comprises a terrestrial route from Montréal through Ottawa to Kingston, coupled with a submarine segment under Lake Ontario to downtown Toronto. The project was expected to be operational in the second half of 2019.
• IT International Telecom Canada Inc.coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 30 May 2018IT International Telecom contracted to manage the installation and burial of Crosslake Fibre's 58 km underwater fibre-optic cable beneath Lake Ontario. The installation used vessel C.S. IT Intrepid, planned for July and August 2018, with Ready-for-Service milestone set for October 2018.
• Hexatronic Cables & Interact Systems ABcoreTechnology or Integration · 9 April 2018Hexatronic contracted to supply a high-fiber-count, double-armored 96-pair ribbon submarine cable for Crosslake's pioneering route between Toronto and Buffalo across Lake Ontario.
• Maritech International LTDcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 9 April 2018Maritech International contracted to construct the HDD (Horizontal Directional Drilling) shore ends at landing points in Toronto and Wilson, NY, using minimal-impact, trenchless methods ideal for urban proximity.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Colt Technology Services: Colt owns and operates a fibre network across Europe and Asia, with a strong focus on financial-services and low-latency routes between London and other European centres. Overlaps directly with CrossChannel on London-Paris.
• GTT Communications: GTT provides global Tier 1 IP, wavelength and managed network services across North America and Europe, with fibre assets serving financial and enterprise customers. Competes with Crosslake in capacity and wavelength services on transatlantic corridors.
• Zayo Group: Zayo is a large North American and European wholesale fibre operator with extensive long-haul and metro footprint, including dark fibre and capacity services. Overlaps with Crosslake on the Toronto-NY corridor and major data centre routes, but at much broader scale.
• Lumen Technologies: Lumen operates a global fibre and capacity network spanning North America and Europe, including transatlantic subsea capacity. Comparable wholesale and wavelength offerings, with overlaps on the Toronto-NY and transatlantic routes served by Crosslake.
• Hurricane Electric: Hurricane Electric operates a large global IPv6-native backbone and dense data centre interconnect footprint across North America and Europe. Comparable on bulk transit and capacity services to carriers and content providers, though not focused on subsea cable ownership.

Direct peers

• EXA Infrastructure: EXA Infrastructure operates a pan-European fibre network with owned subsea capacity across the English Channel and North Sea. Directly comparable to Crosslake's CrossChannel French landing and overlap on UK-France corridor; also a Crosslake channel partner.
• euNetworks: euNetworks owns a fibre-based metropolitan and long-haul network across Western Europe, with a focus on low-latency routes for financial services. Directly comparable on European dark fibre and the London-Paris/London-Madrid corridors; exclusive CrossChannel partner.
• Aqua Comms: Aqua Comms owns and operates subsea fibre networks across the North Atlantic (America-Europe Connect-1, AEC-2 / Havfrue). Direct ownership of subsea cables on transatlantic routes, serving carriers and hyperscalers, makes it a close functional peer to Crosslake's CrossChannel and Lake Ontario systems.
• RETN: RETN operates a global network with owned fibre on key European transit routes, including low-latency London-Paris capacity. Directly comparable on UK-France subsea and trading-corridor dark fibre; an existing Crosslake channel partner.
• BSO (Netskope): BSO built a global network serving capital markets, trading and low-latency connectivity between major financial hubs. Compares on the Toronto-NY corridor and target customer base - BSO is both a Crosslake customer and a functional peer for low-latency route services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CrosslakeFibre

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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 Crosslake Fibre