Optical fiber

Finland has no reason to suspect that the cutting of two land-based fiber optic cables was a criminal act, police said today, as authorities and cable owners work to determine the exact cause of the incident.

Greece's geographic location positions it as a strategic hub for submarine fiber optic cables, according to Les Echos, a French financial newspaper. 

The report highlights French company Data4's decision to build Greece's largest data center campus in Paiania, underscoring the country's potential to become a significant player in global data storage.

Despite the fact that all Greek schools, as public services, have access to the internet, it is not the same everywhere, due to the country's geography, which includes hundreds of islands and many mountainous areas.

According to a foreign consultancy, the data center market in Greece is expected to grow in value from €695 million in 2023 to €1.2 billion in 2029, expanding at an average pace of nearly 10% annually.

The source added that the regions affected are Bouches-du-Rhône, Aude, Oise, Hérault, Meuse, and Drôme cities of Paris and Île-de-France, where the Olympic Games are taking place, were not affected.

The affected regions are located in southeastern, southwestern, eastern, and northern France, according to the police.

At least 25% of internet traffic and data carried from Asia to Europe via undersea fiber-optic cables in the Red Sea has been affected since the start of the year.

The reason is said to be the attacks by Houthi rebels, who in several cases have caused serious damage to the submarine cables resulting in interruptions.

Greece very likely has significant sources of metals and semimetals among the so-called "critical minerals" essential for the transition to clean energy, among other uses, officials at the Ministry of Environment and Energy believe.

After five years and two governments, the contract for the development of optical fiber to the home (FTTH) in semi-urban and rural areas of the country has finally been signed.

As of June, Greeks will be able to apply for a subsidy to turn their apartment building into a smart one, Digital Governance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis said in an interview on Sunday.

Speaking to Eleftheros Typos newspaper, Pierrakakis said that the program Smart Readiness will upgrade telecommunications and the environment in Greece, and can benefit millions of citizens.

Rare-earth metals are a group of 17 elements that, along with other critical raw materials, are used in the production of a wide range of high-tech products, from smartphones, computers, wind turbines and electric car batteries to defense equipment, lasers, optical fibers and aircraft engines.