Direct Submarine Cable will connect Germany and Finland
How to continue to remain competitive on the international market in the face of ever increasing energy prices is an important issue facing energy-efficient data center operators in Germany today.
The Nordic region is proving an increasingly attractive investment option in the technology sector. Scandinavian countries such as Finland are becoming more popular for building energy-efficient data centers, thanks to reliable low cost power with a low carbon content owing to the use of hydropower. On the cost front, direct comparisons show grid charges of appox. 16 cents/kWh in Germany to be almost double that in Finland (approx. 6-7 cents/kWh).
Not being eligible for the German Renewable Energy Act (EEG) levy, DC operators in Germany bear the full costs for power, which has resulted in a competitive disadvantage vis a vis data centers in other EU member states where energy costs are significantly lower.
Climatically good for energy-efficient data centers, Finland boasts an average temperature of around 5°C compared with 12°C in Germany offering scope for energy efficient cooling and thus minimising power and cooling costs. In terms of green energy, the trend towards the use of hydropower and biomass power plants as renewable energy has increased in recent years.
These advantages coupled with a low risk of natural disasters, a stable political system and the prospect of Finland as an important hub between Eastern and Western Europe, make the country an interesting potential data center location for energy-efficient data center operators such as Hetzner Online AG.
Unfortunately, the lack of cable connections in remote locations means high latency. So, as a first step, Hetzner Online is investing in cabling which will benefit the company’s network as a whole, offering low latency, stable and high quality connections as well as high cyber security due to the direct connection between Germany and Finland, as well as open up new regions for Internet infrastructure.
A 20-year € 10 m contract has been signed with Finnish connectivity provider Cinia Group Ltd for a 1,100 km fiber optic cable link in the Baltic Sea. Stretching from Rostock to Helsinki, this will provide the first direct link connecting mainland Europe and the Nordic region, enabling even better networking between Hetzner Online’s Nuremberg and Falkenstein data center locations while providing fast and secure connectivity to and from Scandinavia.
Hetzner Online CEO, Martin Hetzner, speaks of a milestone in the history of the company:
“The new sea cable provides Hetzner Online with a broadband and latency optimised connection between a future data center location in the Nordic region and the Central European Internet infrastructure in Frankfurt.”
Hetzner Online is currently evaluating the final location for its new data center in Finland.