RETN

RETN originated in 2002 as a joint project of Saint Petersburg operators PeterStar and Eltel to connect the Russian internet to Western Europe. A point of presence was opened in Helsinki in 2003. PeterStar exited in 2005 after being acquired by Synterra. Dmitry Samarin, then head of Eltel, founded RETN as an independent company that year, initially leasing capacity before building its own backbone from 2007. By 2008, the network had points of presence across Europe and the U.S. East Coast. In July 2008, RETN was acquired by the Cypriot company Nateco.

In 2008, RETN announced a pan-European ring connecting Russia to Europe via Scandinavia and Ukraine; the DWDM network was commissioned in February 2010, providing the first redundant connection between European Russia and major European internet exchanges (IXP). The company subsequently had entities in Russia, Ukraine, and Western markets. In 2012, Rostelecom reportedly considered acquiring RETN, but the deal did not proceed.

In 2016, RETN re-registered as a British company with headquarters in London, retaining its Network Operations Center in Moscow. Tony O'Sullivan, who joined in 2007, was appointed COO in 2016 and moved to Hong Kong in 2017. In January 2021, O'Sullivan succeeded Samarin as CEO; Samarin remained as Chairman.

RETN provides a wide range of connectivity services for wholesale and content and enterprise customers. These include IP transit, Ethernet and VPN solutions, capacity services, remote peering to major Internet Exchange Points (IXPs), colocation, DDoS Mitigation, cloud connectivity and Flex IX. For enterprise customers, the company offers Managed Global Private Network solutions, BGP solutions, One Port services, and cybersecurity solutions.

RETN network connects major global telecommunications hubs to the Eurasian region and is based on dual platforms: Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) and Internet Protocol/Multiprotocol Label Switching (IP/MPLS). The network extends through Western and Eastern Europe, reaching the border with China and Southeast Asia via terrestrial routes. RETN relies on equipment from leading manufacturers such as Infinera, Juniper, and Ciena to maintain high performance and reliability.

It has more than 16 offices across Europe and Asia including in London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Milan, Singapore and Hong Kong, The current CEO of the company is Tony O’Sullivan

RETN has partnerships with Internet Exchange Points, including DE-CIX, LINX, ESpanix, BIX and Namex.