The Nordics: Connecting Sustainability In An Expanding EMEA
By Merete Caubet
July 30, 2021
By Merete CaubetNorway launched a strategy in 2018 toward becoming a data center destination market. Additional policy actions are expected this year through an update to the national strategy designed to increase investment in a rapidly expanding market. Vast surpluses of 100 percent renewable energy at significantly lower cost than the rest of the FLAPD markets are proving compelling factors in this growth.
Until recent years, Norway has trailed behind the rest of Europe in developing and deploying digital infrastructure. Affordable and abundant clean hydropower and direct policy actions by the Norwegian government have transformed the Nordic region into one of the fastest growing markets across EMEA. Norway is now equaling and surpassing neighboring states when it comes to connectivity, capacities and route diversity offerings in the region.
The digital role of the Nordics continues to gain prominence across Western Europe. Reducing costs in CAPEX and OPEX while meeting increasing expectations for sustainability are key drivers and expanding connectivity options add confidence that is enabling global investment. This infrastructure is transforming networking across EMEA.
Building for Business
A recent white paper published by Invest in Norway lists four subsea cable systems in operation, two under construction, and three more planned. Table 1 lists the details of each of these systems.
In addition to the growing number of diverse and redundant routes into Norway, new terrestrial routes have been constructed, providing capacity between points of presence (POPs) in Norway and those in Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris and Dublin – the FLAPD markets – and to other key markets across Europe. Investments in and around Oslo continue to cement the capital city’s position at the center of Norway’s digital ecosystem.
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