February 3, 2025 – Digital Realty (NYSE:DLR, news, filings), the leading global provider of cloud and carrier-neutral data center, colocation, and interconnection solutions, today announced the activation of a point of presence (PoP) in collaboration with EXA Infrastructure (EXA) to bring enhanced connectivity solutions to Crete. The partnership will leverage EXA’s expansive network capabilities to strengthen Crete’s role as a critical carrier-neutral interconnection point for the Mediterranean region.
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 1 MW. HER1 will serve as the first carrier-neutral facility in Crete, with intentions of addressing a significant gap in the region by allowing international and regional subsea cables to interconnect, a transformative step toward making Greece a major connectivity hub for Southern and Eastern Europe, as well as regions beyond.
“We are excited to build on our partnership with EXA to establish Crete as a major connectivity hub,” said Fabrice Coquio, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Europe Med, Digital Realty. “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.”
With rising market demand for optimized traffic paths between Europe and the rest of the world, Greece’s geographic position presents a unique advantage. As a gateway to both Eastern Europe and other emerging connectivity markets, Crete is strategically positioned to handle high traffic volumes between regions, with HER1 expected to offer a critical interconnection hub for traffic to and from Northern Africa, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific, and the potential to become a key cloud and content hub serving these regions from Europe.
Steve Roberts, Senior Vice President Network Investment and Product Management at EXA commented: “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.”
EXA will be a key connectivity provider for HER1, supporting routes from Crete to Athens with redundancy across diverse submarine and terrestrial paths extending connectivity further into Eastern and Central Europe, including key locations such as Zagreb and Vienna. Additionally, EXA will offer network links between Heraklion and Chania on Crete, facilitating seamless connections between legacy subsea cables and new subsea cable projects that will use HER1 as an interconnection facility to exchange traffic and optimize capacities.
About Digital Realty
Digital Realty brings companies and data together by delivering the full spectrum of data center, colocation and interconnection solutions. PlatformDIGITAL®, the company’s global data center platform, provides customers with a secure data meeting place and a proven Pervasive Datacenter Architecture (PDx®) solution methodology for powering innovation and efficiently managing Data Gravity challenges. Digital Realty gives its customers access to the connected data communities that matter to them with a global data center footprint of 300+ facilities in 50+ metros across 25+ countries on six continents. To learn more about Digital Realty, please visit digitalrealty.com or follow us on LinkedIn and X.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements which are based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially, including statements related to the Greek and European markets, expected growth in digital transformation and demand, customer demand and company strategy. No representation or warranties are made by the company or any of its affiliates and results are not guaranteed. For a list and description of risks and uncertainties, please see the company’s reports and other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Media contact
PR Archives: Latest, By Company, By Date