– New Submarine Data Cable Between Germany and Finland Benefits Data Center Operators and Brings a New Data Route to Asia
Helsinki, Finland and Frankfurt, Germany – May 20, 2016 – Cinia Group, Finland-based designer, builder and operator of intelligent connectivity and ICT solutions, celebrated the official opening and commercial availability of Cinia C-Lion 1, a new submarine cable system that connects Central and Northern Europe with record-breaking network capacity.
The Cinia C-Lion1 submarine cable system ties Central and Northern Europe closely together. A significant cut in the round trip delay makes Helsinki appear as a suburb of Frankfurt. The cyber secure connection with a record-breaking capacity of 144 Tbps seamlessly links data centers, enabling data center providers to benefit from Finland’s cool climate, strict privacy laws and low energy pricing.
"In the eve of a possible Brexit and the growing Euroscepticism, it is most vital that we continue building common Europe together,” said Erika Mann, Board Member at ICANN and keynote speaker at the Cinia Grand Opening event. "Digital Single Europe and this new route are the future we should nurture.”
“The new submarine data cable is an opportunity not only for businesses in Finland and Germany but also the whole of Europe,” said Brigitte Zypries, Parliamentary State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, and speaker at the Cinia Grand Opening event. “It combines strengths on both sides, connecting the financial industry and the internet exchange node in Frankfurt via the highest data throughput worldwide with the Northern climate and lower green energy prices.”
“Cinia C-Lion1 is another great example of the role of the State of Finland as an enabler of new infrastructure,” said Lenita Toivakka, the Finnish Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, opening speaker at the Cinia Grand Opening event. “The Finnish Government envisioned the need, set the project going and invested in it, and after that was able to get private equity invested in the project. We expect the connection to benefit Finland’s national economy through significant indirect effects across several industries.”
Labeled Northern Digital Highway, the new connection directly links Central European network nodes such as DE-CIX, the largest internet exchange point in the world, via Finland to Russian and Asian markets. Existing interconnections at the Finnish-Russian border enable direct access to Asia via the so called northern Silk Road route. The potential Arctic Connect sea cable via the Northeast Passage is set to further position Finland as the key gateway between the East and the West.
“The digitalized world places ever higher demands for data transmission, as speed and reliability are key success factors in more and more industries,” said Ari-Jussi Knaapila, CEO, Cinia Group. “With the Northern Digital Highway, we are building infrastructure that puts Finland on the top of the list for global digital pioneers when choosing a favorable location for data intensive operations. Completion of the C-Lion1 project is just the beginning.”
Cinia has already signed and announced significant agreements with leading data center operators such as Hetzner Online and TeliaSonera, and a contract with Avelacom to interconnect with their network between Finland and Moscow, Russia. Further key partnerships include Huawei, Xtera and SSH. Recently, Cinia announced the agreement to connect to Equinix data centers in Helsinki and Frankfurt.
Designed and commissioned by Cinia Group and built in partnership with Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks, the Cinia C-Lion1 cable system totals 1,200 kilometers in length and consists of eight optical fiber pairs with a total capacity of 144 terabits per second (Tbps).
Photos from the Cinia Grand Opening: www.cinia.fi/fi/grandopening
For further information, please contact: www.cinia.fi
Ari-Jussi Knaapila, CEO, Cinia Group
Tel. +358 50 2179
Email aj.knaapila@cinia.fi
Jukka-Pekka Joensuu, Executive Vice President, Cinia Group
Tel. +358 40 179 8855
Email jukka-pekka.joensuu@cinia.fi
Agency Contact: Juha Frey, Netprofile for Cinia Group
Tel. +358 40 572 4674
Email juha@netprofile.fi
Cinia Group creates intelligent connectivity solutions that make the world smaller and your business smarter. We have over 10.000 km of own backbone and we are building international connectivity and sea cable connecting East and West. Our professionals design, build and operate nationally critical systems in open system environment serving many major traffic and energy distribution operators. We have a strategic ambition to build and expand Cloud Backbone to fuel Single Digital Market in Europe and offer system solutions created for private and public sector customers. www.cinia.fi
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