Cinia, C-Fiber Hanko team for extension of C-Lion-1 submarine network

Cinia Group, which operates the C-Lion-1 submarine network that links Finland and Germany, has announced an agreement with investment group C-Fiber Hanko to construct a branch of the undersea cable that would link to the Finnish city of Hanko. The investment group hopes the connection will enable Hanko and the Raasepori region is to become "a significant node for international data traffic along with Frankfurt, Stockholm, and Helsinki," in the words of a press release.

Cinia, meanwhile, sees the new submarine cable link as providing new routing options.

C-Fiber Hanko comprises several businesses and public entities from the region, including Tammisaaren Energia, Karjaan Puhelin, Raasepori Savings Bank, the Town of Hanko, Raaseporin Kehitys Oy, Forcit, N3M Group, the Port of Hanko, Tammisaari Savings Bank, XLT-Systems, and private investor Björn Siggberg. The group has pledged 3 million euros to the project in cooperation with Cinia, which will help fund construction of the link as well.

"This is a long-term investment. We do not expect quick wins but plenty of indirect gains for the whole region," explains Eero Hettula, chairman of the board of C-Fibre Hanko. "In exchange for their 20-year investment, the partners in C-Fiber Hanko will get compensated according to the amount of data traffic that goes through the new branch connection. We also gain a great deal of experience about cooperation between the municipalities and businesses in whole Southern Finland."

"For us, the new branch provides an additional route to the main cable connection and an opportunity to route the data traffic of the Western Nordics more directly to the C-Lion1 cable system. The additional branch will also serve in ensuring the continuity of data traffic," adds Cinia Group CEO Ari-Jussi Knaapila.

Cinia expects the Hanko branch to go live at the beginning of 2018.

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