The wave of investment sweeping across the North is fueling an unprecedented appetite for high-capacity, resilient fibre connections linking the region to the rest of the world — and Altibox Carrier, through its new partnership with HitecVision, is strategically positioned to meet this challenge.
The world’s data centre industry has taken full notice of the Nordics — a region blessed with vast supplies of clean, renewable power and a naturally cool climate that keeps operating costs down. In Norway for instance, demand for power permits is soaring as operators rush to take advantage of the country’s rare mix of energy surplus, political stability, and advanced network infrastructure — all perfectly suited to support the massive growth of data traffic, both onshore and subsea.
Stargate Norway: Europe’s new AI powerhouse
Among the headline-grabbing projects unveiled in recent months is Stargate Norway, a colossal artificial intelligence facility being developed in Narvik, Northern Norway, through a collaboration between Nscale, Aker, and OpenAI.
By the end of 2026, the facility aims to deploy 100,000 NVIDIA GPUs, with significant scaling already planned for the years ahead. The site will start with a capacity of 230 MW, with ambitions to add another 290 MW, placing it firmly among the largest AI infrastructure investments anywhere in Europe.
For OpenAI, this marks both its first data centre project on the continent and the inaugural European site under its OpenAI for Countries program, a milestone that underscores Norway’s growing strategic importance in the digital economy.
Data growth on a historic scale
The speed of development in Norway’s data centre sector is staggering. According to the Norwegian Datacenter Industry, data centres currently consume just over one percent of the country’s total power. That share is projected to climb to six percent by 2030, nine percent by 2040, and eleven percent by 2050 — a steep trajectory that illustrates just how central the Nordics are becoming to Europe’s data ecosystem.
This explosion of activity is naturally translating into soaring demand for transport capacity. Figures from Omdia’s Wave Report, analysed by Ciena, point to an extraordinary surge in data volumes — with connections at 100G, 400G, and 800G forecast to see significant growth across Norway through 2030. Operators like Altibox Carrier are emerging as key enablers, ensuring that the new digital superhighways can handle the growing flood of traffic between data centres.
Altibox Carrier’s next chapter
In step with this momentum, Altibox Carrier made headlines this summer by announcing that HitecVision will take a 50 percent ownership stake in the company, which until now has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Lyse.
The move creates a new joint venture that combines Lyse’s digital infrastructure expertise with HitecVision’s financial and industrial muscle. The partnership gives the newly independent company the scale and flexibility it needs to accelerate growth across the Nordic fibre market.
Altibox Carrier plans to expand its existing network, build new strategic routes with pre-signed customers, and acquire small and medium-sized fibre operators across the region — all aimed at meeting the surging demand for robust, sustainable connectivity between data centres.
In a July press release, Rosalie Poen, CEO of Lyse, said: “Together, we will develop the company into a leading provider of high-capacity fibre networks for the global market. With HitecVision, we gain a partner with strong execution capabilities and proven experience in both energy and digital infrastructure.”
