European network service provider Colt says it has connected three more Italian cities to its long-distance fiber-optic network. Bologna, Genoa, and Parma, now join Rome, Milan and Turin as cities in which Colt provides connections for enterprises, carriers, and channel partners.

The extension required more than 1,600 km of new fiber cable. Colt says the network provides reduced latency and improved resilience for connections up to 10 Gbps. However, the network is capable of carrying 100 Gigabit Ethernet, Colt asserts, based on a trial of the technology Colt conducted elsewhere on its network last year. The infrastructure also is ready for IPv6, in the network service provider’s estimation.

“This is a significant investment for Colt and shows our commitment to the Italian market and to the continued expansion of our information delivery platform’s capabilities throughout Europe,” said François Eloy, executive vice president, Colt Communication Services. “It enables us to meet the strong customer demand for national and international high speed connectivity. Colt is committed to help organisations run smarter in Europe and we have built the Italian long-distance network with one eye on the future so that upgrades will be faster and simpler to perform.”