RETN Launches New Tallinn–Cēsis Backbone

London, Riga, Tallinn – February 17, 2026 – RETN, the leading independent global network service provider, has launched a new backbone route between Tallinn, Estonia, and Cēsis, Latvia - one that was put to the test almost immediately when a fiber break disrupted the primary path in late 2025.

The fiber failure occurred during pre-service testing of the new route, requiring RETN engineers to shift live traffic off the affected primary backbone and onto the newly built Tallinn–Cēsis line. More than 40 DWDM backbone channels spanning multiple European segments were successfully rerouted within 60 minutes. In Layer 1 environments, where restoration is often dependent on physical fiber repair, such incidents can typically take days - or significantly longer in subsea scenarios.

Despite the scale and complexity of the operation, key performance indicators - including latency and jitter were maintained throughout. The incident provided a real-world validation of the new route’s performance and readiness, even before it formally entered service.

The Tallinn–Cēsis route forms part of RETN’s strategic network expansion programme, aimed at strengthening connectivity between Northern and Central Europe through greater route and supplier diversity. The new line delivers:

• Improved backbone resilience, creating an additional terrestrial path between Northern Europe - including Finland and the Nordics - and Central Europe, and reducing dependency on single fiber suppliers. 
• A new Core Point of Presence (PoP) at Greenergy Data Centre in Tallinn, enabling RETN to deliver its full portfolio of network services locally. 
• Additional capacity up to 40TBps, with new DWDM spectrum available to support future service growth and rapid traffic rerouting during network disruptions.

“Modern backbone networks have to be engineered on the assumption that outages are inevitable, therefore, the network design should be resilient from the start” said Tony O’Sullivan, CEO of RETN. “The Tallinn–Cēsis route was built as part of a deliberate resilience strategy – adding diversity at both the route and supplier level – so that when a failure occurs, traffic can be shifted quickly without compromising performance.”