Milos, Greece

How the Internet Reaches Milos

Milos is a volcanic island in the Aegean Sea, positioned at the southwestern edge of the Cyclades island group, just north of the Sea of Crete. As an island, Milos has no terrestrial route for international internet traffic — all connectivity depends on submarine cable infrastructure linking it to the Greek mainland and other regional points. For Milos, that connection is provided by a single planned submarine cable currently in draft status, with service expected in 2027.

Unlike major Greek landing points such as Athens or Chania, which sit at the intersection of multiple international cables, Milos is served by a single domestic cable — the Thetis Express — which connects it to Athens and Heraklion rather than to overseas destinations directly. International traffic from Milos therefore routes onward through those hub cities to reach the broader global internet.

The Cable Serving Milos

The Thetis Express is a 340 km submarine cable currently in draft status, with a planned ready-for-service date of 2027. It connects Milos to two other Greek landing points: Athens on the Greek mainland and Heraklion on the island of Crete. This cable is an intra-Greek route, linking the Cyclades island group southward to Crete and northward to the capital, rather than spanning international waters to foreign shores.

Regional Context

Greece hosts 13 submarine cables across 30 landing points, with an average cable length of 3,317 km and the first cable in service since 1996. Within that national picture, Milos sits among the smaller, single-cable landing points alongside locations such as Aethos and Agios Sostis, each served by just one cable. By contrast, regional peers like Chania carry five cables and Athens carries four, making those cities the dominant nodes in Greek submarine cable geography. Tympaki on Crete is another nearby landing point, served by three cables.

What This Means for Connectivity

Because Milos is served by a single submarine cable — and one not yet in service — all future international internet traffic from the island will flow through the Thetis Express to Athens or Heraklion before reaching the wider global network. An outage on this cable would sever Milos's submarine link entirely, with no alternative cable route available. The cable's domestic scope means Milos is one step removed from international connectivity, depending on the richer cable infrastructure at Athens and Heraklion to bridge onward to global destinations.

Once the Thetis Express enters service in 2027, it will mark a significant step in formally integrating Milos into Greece's submarine cable network. Understanding this single-cable, relay-dependent structure is key to appreciating how smaller Aegean islands fit into the broader architecture of Greek and regional internet connectivity.