Finland-based Cinia Group began laying the new submarine Sea Lion data cable in Helsinki, Finland.
The new fibre optic sea cable will provide a direct, low latency and cyber secure internet backbone connection between Finland and Germany.
Linking Cinia's existing countrywide data network in Finland with network nodes in Central Europe, the new sea cable is expected to increase interest of data center operators and data intensive organizations to set up operations in Finland.
"The sea cable initiative builds the future of Finland based on our existing strengths," said Eero Heliövaara, Director General at the Prime Minister's Office.
"A direct data connection between Finland and Central Europe is an important enabler of both domestic economic growth and international investments. Data traffic is expected to grow manifold within the next years, and the sea cable initiative opens up an opportunity for Finland to claim its position among the leading countries in the area of Industrial Internet," he added.
Cinia Group leads the Sea Lion initiative as the developer and builder of the submarine cable, and later as an open access network operator. The Finnish Government is an enabler and investor of the initiative together with institutional investors OP-Pohjola and Ilmarinen.
"We expect the sea cable to help in bringing 2 to 3 billion Euros worth of private data center investments in Finland within the next 10 years", said Ari-Jussi Knaapila, CEO at Cinia Group. "Even more important for the Finnish national economy is the opportunity to boost our own strong digital ecosystems."