Arelion Upgrades Scandinavian Network to Build AI Superhighway

STOCKHOLM, June 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Arelion today announced major investments in its Scandinavian network to connect hyperscale data centers and serve the region's booming AI markets. Leveraging 1.6 Tb/s Waves and scalable 400G coherent pluggable optics on Ciena's open 6500 Reconfigurable Line System, Arelion is scaling its existing Tier-1 network between Oslo, Stockholm and Copenhagen to support wholesale and enterprise customers' AI and cloud applications. This accelerated network investment enhances diversity and bandwidth for current customers while allowing Arelion to support new customers quickly and cost-effectively.

Arelion currently operates multiple terrestrial routes across Scandinavia and provides diverse access via 13 subsea cables connecting the Nordics and Baltics. Through this investment, Arelion is proactively upgrading its network to reach hyperscale data centers and new AI scale campuses by completing cable and duct construction augmenting existing network ducts. Arelion was an early adopter of open optical networking and has established industry milestones through live network field trials, including a 1,069-kilometer IP transmission with Cisco 800G ZR+ coherent optics on its long-haul route between Stockholm, Sweden, and Hamburg, Germany. The global Internet carrier also achieved the world's first live 1.6 Tb/s Wave data transmission with Ciena's Wavelogic 6 Extreme in August 2024.

"Arelion reinforces its standing as a trailblazer with this substantial investment, allowing it to enhance network capacity and energy efficiency through the power of open optical networking and next-generation coherent optic solutions," said Virginie Hollebecque, Vice President and Leader of EMEA at Ciena. "This network upgrade through Ciena's RLS solution will prove crucial for supporting Scandinavia's AI boom, enabling continued innovation through Arelion's forward-thinking vision."

Scandinavia is a strategic data center hub due to its higher availability of land, sustainable power and more stable energy pricing than other European regions. Oslo's data center industry has a total capacity of 423 MW, with consultants estimating the Nordics' installed capacity will increase by 280-580 MW annually. Analysts project the region's data center construction market will reach $7.38 billion by 2030, rising at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23.47 percent. Scandinavia's AI market is also expanding, with experts estimating a CAGR of 26.24 percent to reach $19.90 billion by 2031. Arelion will complete its network upgrade by late Q2, with further investments in its Scandinavian network planned throughout the remainder of 2025 and into 2026.

"As a global Internet carrier headquartered in Sweden, we've invested in our Scandinavian infrastructure to meet our customers' evolving connectivity demands since the beginning," said Johan Godal, Product Manager at Arelion. "This strategic upgrade is the first step in a series of ongoing investments, reflecting our long-held mission to maximize our network assets by enhancing capacity, scalability and diversity. This strategy allows our customers to accelerate their adoption of emerging applications by connecting to Scandinavia's AI superhighway."

With this network upgrade, Arelion provides customers with enhanced access to Arelion's #1 ranked global Internet backbone, as well as Arelion's portfolio of reliable, fully diverse connectivity services, including scalable IP Transit, Wavelengths, Dedicated Internet Access (DIA), Cloud Connect, Global 40G Ethernet Virtual Circuit (VC) and DDoS Mitigation services for service providers, content providers and enterprises.

About Arelion

Arelion solves global connectivity challenges for multinational enterprises whose businesses rely on digital infrastructure. On top of the world's #1 ranked IP backbone and a unique ecosystem of cloud and network service providers, we provide an award-winning customer experience to customers in more than 125 countries worldwide. Our global Internet services connect more than 700 cloud, security and content providers with low latency. For further resilience, our private Cloud Connect service connects directly to Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, IBM Cloud and Oracle cloud across North America, Europe and Asia. Discover more at Arelion.com, and follow us on LinkedIn and X.

Arelion
Martin Sjögren, Senior Manager PR and Analyst Relations
+46 (0)707 770 522
[email protected] 

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SOURCE Arelion