Digital Realty & EXA Infrastructure Commit to Crete Hub

World-leading global provider of cloud and carrier-neutral data centre solutions, Digital Realty, has announced the activation of a point of presence (PoP) in collaboration with EXA Infrastructure.
Both companies are eager to place Crete as a major connectivity hub, leveraging EXA’s expansive network capabilities to strengthen the island’s role as a critical carrier-neutral interconnection point within the Mediterranean.
The partnership will support the development of Digital Realty’s first data center in Crete, HER1, which is scheduled to become operational in early 2025 with an expected initial capacity of 1MW.
“We are excited to build on our partnership with EXA to establish Crete as a major connectivity hub,” shares Fabrice Coquio, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Europe Med at Digital Realty.
Addressing critical connectivity gaps
HER1 will serve as the first carrier-neutral facility in Crete and has the intention of addressing significant gaps in the Mediterranean by enabling international and regional subsea cables to interconnect.
This is a transformative step within the region and also contributes to making Greece a major connectivity hub for Southern and Eastern Europe, as well as regions further away.
Fabrice explains: “By leveraging EXA's extensive network capabilities, HER1 will not only bridge critical connectivity gaps in the Mediterranean but also further position Greece as a strategic gateway for data traffic between Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, and beyond.”
Market demand for optimised traffic paths between Europe and the rest of the world only continues to rise. WIth this in mind, the location of Greece is fast-becoming a strategic advantage and can help handle high traffic volume between Eastern Europe and other emerging connectivity markets.
As a result, HER1 is expected to offer a critical interconnection hub for traffic to and from Northern Africa, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region. With the need for optimised traffic paths between Europe and the rest of the world, HER1 holds the potential to become a key cloud and content hub.
EXA Infrastructure will be a key connectivity provider for HER1 and will support routes from Crete to Athens. There will also be redundancy across diverse submarine and terrestrial paths, as both companies seek to extend connectivity further into Eastern and Central Europe, including the key locations of Zagreb and Vienna.
In addition, EXA will offer key network links between Heraklion and Chania on Crete itself. This will help to facilitate seamless connections between legacy subsea cables and new subsea cable projects that will use HER1 as an interconnection facility to exchange traffic and optimise capacities.
“Strengthening Crete’s connectivity landscape, EXA will deliver robust connectivity between Eastern and Western Mediterranean, linking established hubs such as Marseille with emerging and complementary markets like Rome and Barcelona, meeting the growing demand for reliable, diversified routes,” says Steve Roberts, Senior Vice President Network Investment and Product Management at EXA.
Becoming a data centre leader
Digital Realty has been expanding its data centre presence in the Mediterranean in recent years. The colocation provider teamed up with EXA Infrastructure and Schneider Electric in 2024 to expand its connectivity network in Crete via its Heraklion-1 data centre.
Expected to commence operations in the first quarter of 2025, Heraklion-1 has already garnered much interest from businesses across the region.
- 150+ data centres globally
- 100% renewable energy
- 1.5GW+ of solar and wind capacity
The colocation leader is working hard to establish a strong presence in Europe, having also recently announced its participation in 24/7 hourly energy matching programmes in both Sweden and France. This is being actioned as a next step on the company’s journey in renewable energy production and consumption.
Such an approach from Digital Realty ensures that energy used by its data centres is matched with renewable energy production on an hourly basis in near real-time in Sweden.
“By joining these programs, we’re bringing a new level of transparency to our energy consumption and renewable energy procurement,” says Aaron Binkley, Vice President of Sustainability, Digital Realty.
“With 24/7 matching, we are innovating how we track and manage clean energy use to drive impact with, ensuring that every step of our journey is clear and accountable.
“This is a significant step forward in our mission to create a more sustainable future.”
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