It connects eight cities, links Greece to its main PoPs in southeastern Europe and beyond to Turkey and the Middle East, as part of a wider regional strategy
United Group, a leading telecoms and media provider in southeastern Europe, has completed a terrestrial cable between the Greek cities of Athens and Thessaloniki. It is a key component in the group’s broader regional strategy, including planned Aegean submarine connections to link Greece, Turkey, and the Middle East over the coming years.
It was built by United Fiber, a subsidiary of United Group and spans 600km to connect the eight cities Athens, Thessaloniki, Volos, Lamia, Larissa, Livadeia, Katerini, and Thebes. It also links Greece to the Group’s main PoP in southeastern Europe.
The network passes through Bulgaria’s capital, Sofia, and forms part of a wider Balkan backbone that reaches western Europe. It strengthens existing links to Turkey and the Middle East and complements submarine cables to Italy and Crete.
Paolo Ficini, CEO of United Group International (UGI), said in a statement, “With the completion of this new route, United Group demonstrates its commitment to being the largest fiber network provider in Southeastern Europe.
“This project not only enhances regional connectivity, supports new investment opportunities, and accelerates digital transformation across the countries involved, but it also gives UGI the ability to fully commercialize this new asset. It addresses growing demand driven by new data centers and upcoming submarine cable deployments in the region.”
Wholesale services for the cable are managed by UGI Wholesale which provides data, voice, mobile, and roaming services to carriers and technology partners across Europe.
The story in numbers
In January, United Group completed €1.5 billion in bond refinancing transactions to strengthen its capital structure and financial flexibility and followed the group’s €400 million bond refinancing which was completed in December 2025.
It posted Q3 results (to the end of September) for fiscal year 2025 in December last year, It said the the Group is more clearly focused on its core EU operations in Greece, Bulgaria, Croatia and Slovenia after the sale of its Serbian assets – which seems to sit somewhat at odds with its expansion plans outlined above.
Recent senior appointments – including Dr. Kim Kyllesbech Larsen as Chief Technology and Information Officer and Dejan Kocić as Interim CEO of United Cloud – are responsible for the execution of United Group’s technology and innovation agenda.
Revenue increased 3% year-on-year to €2 billion, primarily driven by organic growth of the subscriber base, increased customer up-selling and cross-selling, prices increases linked to inflation and ICT projects. Revenue for the last 12 months reached €2.7 billion, a 4% year-on-year increase.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortisation and after leases (EBITDAal) grew 7% to about €680 million, outpacing revenue due to ongoing cost control offsetting wage inflation suffered in most markets. Adjusted EBITDAal for the previous 12 months reached €909 million, a 9% year-on-year increase.
