The East West Gate (EWG) project implemented by Netia – a network providing high-capacity connections between Ukraine and European Union countries – has won the European Digital Connectivity Awards 2025 in the category of “Cross-border and international connectivity.”
The European Digital Connectivity Awards competition, organized by the European Commission, aims to recognize projects that implement modern, high-performance digital infrastructure, including initiatives that reduce the digital divide both within the EU and across borders.
“The European Digital Connectivity Award is a great honor for us and a confirmation of how effectively we respond to the challenges of modern digital transformation and network integration between EU countries and neighboring states,” said Marcin Palkowski, Director of Technology and Network Management at Netia.
“By implementing this project, we not only significantly increased the bandwidth of connections between Ukraine and the EU, but also strengthened security and facilitated access to global cloud services. We are proud to help build infrastructure that knows no borders,” added Marcin Palkowski.
As part of the East West Gate project, a DWDM backbone ring network was built using ASON architecture with service protection features, connecting Ukraine, Poland, Germany, and the Czech Republic. Thanks to the use of GMPLS architecture, the network can automatically restore traffic in the event of a failure.
The value of the project, carried out by Netia from March 2024 to August this year, is approximately €9 million, half of which is financed under the CEF Digital (Connecting Europe Facility) program.
More information about the East West Gate project is available at: https://www.netia.pl/pl/srednie-i-duze-firmy/aktualnosci/projekt-east-west-gate
