European Bandwidth Market: Present Snapshot

Europe is experiencing a surge in capability demand with a vital want to attach quite a few information facilities. Consequently, bigger prospects are shifting to larger capability companies, particularly 400 Gbps and darkish fiber.

Learn on to discover how Europe’s connectivity market is adapting to satisfy unprecedented bandwidth wants. We dive into the implications of excessive bandwidth demand for wholesale pricing in Europe, together with:

• The shifting economics of capability, together with the adoption of 400 Gbps wavelengths and falling value multiples.
• Challenges on vital intercontinental routes, particularly Trans-Atlantic and Europe-Asia.
• The rising function of darkish fiber as an alternative choice to wavelengths for optimum management and scalability.

This evaluation is customized from our newest Bandwidth Pricing Report, which is offered to subscribers of the Wavelengths Pricing information in our Community Pricing Database. 

Content material Suppliers and Cloud Areas in Europe

Europe performs a vital function as a world interconnection hub, fueling bandwidth demand and requiring numerous and resilient community paths. From enterprises upgrading their worldwide networks to web suppliers enhancing their core backbones, we’re seeing shifts to larger capability connectivity throughout verticals.

But it surely’s really the content material suppliers main the surge in bandwidth demand. Practically 80% of all worldwide bandwidth deployed in Europe is utilized by content material suppliers, together with main cloud service suppliers. Along with the 57 stay cloud areas in Europe, operators are planning to launch 12 new cloud areas beginning in 2026. 

Choose Proprietary and Cloud Area Information Heart Areas in Europe

Demand is more and more pushed by intense wants to attach information facilities. And with world funding in AI and GPU infrastructure hovering, Europe is eager to remain within the AI race with a give attention to sovereignty, moral growth, and strategic implementation. To maintain tempo with demand on all fronts, bigger prospects should not solely shifting to 400 Gbps, however to Nx400 Gbps and darkish fiber.

A Deeper Have a look at Capability Value Decline

Rising demand spurs continued funding in community infrastructure, which might embody fiber overbuilds, numerous path building, or infrastructure enlargement. And usually talking, when extra capability or provide turns into out there, this results in decrease unit prices, and finally, decrease costs for purchasers. So it’s no shock that long run value erosion stays the norm. However competitors and regional variations create nuanced dynamics on particular person routes, although. Let’s take a better look beneath at value factors from TeleGeography’s Wavelengths Pricing Database. 

Weighted Median 100 Gbps Wavelength Costs & CAGR Value Decline on European Routes

Core FLAP routes have immense capability necessities as they join the most important enterprise hubs in Europe, and so they additionally see extra competitors. In Q3 2025, the 100 Gbps weighted median on Frankfurt-London was $1,150 with a modest decline of 8%, compounded yearly over the previous three years. This low value can be a mirrored image of latest applied sciences, like ZR+ pluggable optics and hollowcore fiber, rising inside Europe’s hubs. Connectivity prices are sometimes larger in Jap Europe, as demonstrated by Frankfurt-Sofia’s excessive weighted median value. Extra carriers are increasing outward to Sofia as it’s proving to be a pivotal interconnection level between Central Europe, Central Asia, and the Center East.

As bandwidth demand continues to extend, suppliers report that 400 Gbps wavelengths are starting to take up a larger proportion of capability gross sales throughout Europe. Value multiples between 100 Gbps and 400 Gbps companies have fallen because of this. On the Frankfurt-London route, the weighted median 400 Gbps value was simply 2.7 instances greater than the 100 Gbps value, for 4 instances the capability. However value multiples stay larger on subsea routes, resembling London-New York at 3.8. There are further infrastructure and tools improve prices when transitioning to 400 Gbps, however the financial savings on set up, cross join costs, and energy consumption could make up for that over time. 

Navigating Intercontinental Challenges

Increased value multiples haven’t slowed down demand for larger bandwidths. Skyrocketing progress throughout the Atlantic has been on account of new cables resembling MAREA, Havfrue, Dunant, and Grace Hopper. These methods provide diversified landings on the European facet spanning from Scandinavia all the way down to Portugal, and supply larger resilience than prior to now.

But it surely’s vital to think about that 93% of Trans-Atlantic capability is deployed by content material suppliers and isn’t available within the wholesale market. Current conversations have hinted at a looming capability crunch on the horizon. Understandably, our information reveals that 100 Gbps erosion on London-New York slowed to simply 2%, compounded yearly over the previous three years.

Shifting eastward, the Europe-Asia route has struggled with capability provisioning, largely on account of ongoing geopolitical points and submarine cable faults within the Pink Sea. To make issues worse, there are indefinite delays on desperately wanted new high-capacity cables. The mix of unsure provide and excessive demand has precipitated carriers to carry costs steady or report gross sales on the upper finish of the market vary. Consequently, the three yr CAGR decline on Marseille-Singapore’s 100 Gbps weighted median value was a mere 2%. Happily, we’ve seen unimaginable investments bypassing the Pink Sea terrestrially, whether or not by Saudi Arabia avoiding the chokepoint within the Pink Sea, or north by Iraq and Turkey avoiding the Pink Sea altogether. With or with out cable faults, these various routes are particularly essential as hyperscalers are requiring as many as 4 or 5 numerous paths for resiliency. And even giant enterprises are keen to pay extra for this variety.

Darkish Fiber’s Illuminating Position in European Connectivity

The rising want for final scalability and management is driving the elevated visibility of darkish fiber in Europe. Primarily adopted by hyperscalers, darkish fiber is an unlit fiber optical cable that may be a savvy various to a number of 100 or 400 Gbps wavelengths for these requiring huge bandwidths. It provides most management, scalability, and safety because it supplies the very best stage of bodily separation from different customers. Nevertheless, this comes with important drawbacks, together with a excessive upfront price for optical transmission tools and the operational burden of community design, upkeep, and troubleshooting—all requiring in-house technical experience. 

Moreover, darkish fiber pricing is advanced, various considerably primarily based on elements like route competitors—with decrease charges discovered on aggressive Western European routes—geography, buy quantity, and even the shopper’s negotiation talent. Regardless of the attraction of darkish fiber, some high-capacity prospects nonetheless go for lit capability, as wavelengths stay aggressive and cheap in Europe, providing consumers each price effectivity and ease in administration. 

Finally, the shift to larger capability companies highlights the business’s dynamic vitality and suggests an adaptable market poised for transformation, pushed by relentless demand and a give attention to numerous, resilient community paths.

Catch Up on Stacey’s Capability Europe Presentation

Watch beneath and get the slides right here.

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