6 October 2026

Europe’s appetite for compute is outpacing the networks built to serve it. AI workloads and hyperscale data centre development are driving unprecedented traffic growth, and the Nordic region — blessed with abundant renewable energy, political stability and a cool climate — has become a premier destination for this capacity.

Terrestrial and subsea cable provider Midgard Infra is expanding to meet that demand, appointing telecom and hyperscale veteran Chris Kelly as VP for neoclouds to drive regional cloud growth.

Marine surveys have also begun for the Verena subsea cable system, which will link Scarborough in the UK to Esbjerg in Denmark by the fourth quarter of 2028 and keep the company’s infrastructure scaling in step with the market.

New name for a new phase

The expansion follows Midgard Infra’s rebranding from Altibox Carrier, a transition backed by a 50/50 joint venture between Norwegian industrial group Lyse and HitecVision, a private-equity firm from the same country focused on energy and digital infrastructure.

For existing customers, the message is clear: while the name has changed, the core operations, dedicated service teams and commitment to quality remain identical.

The new name is deeply rooted in Norse mythology, in which Midgard is the realm where humanity dwells and Yggdrasil the world tree whose roots and branches bind the cosmos together.

For Midgard Infra, that image is a blueprint. Just as Yggdrasil’s roots linked the realms, Midgard Infra’s high-capacity networks connect data centres, cities and nations across Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland. The new logo reflects this, with branches extending from a shared, solid foundation to form a resilient, interconnected network.

“In an era when data is as essential as roads and power, Midgard Infra is building the digital infrastructure of the Nordics,” said CEO Svein Arild Ims when the new name was launched.

Far-reaching branches

Extending from Midgard Infra’s roots are the company’s subsea cable systems, built for the surge in traffic driven by AI and hyperscale development. Supporting 100G, 400G and 800G optical wavelengths, the network includes:

• The NO-UK cable: connects Stavanger in Norway directly to Newcastle in the UK, with seamless terrestrial connections to Norwegian capital Oslo. Carrying eight dark fibre pairs and up to 216Tbps of capacity, it recently demonstrated line rates of 1.6Tbps per wavelength.
• Skagenfiber West: a wholly owned 170km repeaterless subsea cable linking Larvik in Norway to Hirtshals in Denmark, with onward terrestrial backhaul to Hamburg in Germany. It features 48 fibre pairs and delivers an ultra-low round-trip delay of just 1.7ms.
• The Verena cable (planned to be ready for service in the fourth quarter of 2028): spanning 630km from Scarborough to Esbjerg. With 16 fibre pairs and a capacity of 512Tbps, the cable will strengthen route diversity across the North Sea.
• Transatlantic reach: alongside its Oslo metro network and links to major European hubs such as London, Frankfurt and Amsterdam, Midgard Infra provides high-capacity connectivity to the Americas via the Havfrue (AEC-2) transatlantic cable.

Deep terrestrial roots

Midgard Infra’s expansion is fuelled by its co-ownership structure, combining HitecVision’s capital with Lyse’s decades of industrial experience in telecoms and energy. Through a buy-and-build strategy, the company is positioned to consolidate a fragmented Nordic carrier market and accelerate new fibre routes.

Subsea cables capture the headlines, but a network is only as strong as its terrestrial connections. Through Lyse, Midgard Infra has direct access to one of Norway’s largest terrestrial networks, spanning over 30,000km and connecting more than a million homes, businesses and data centres.

This delivers unrivalled local reach with low latency, creating a powerful synergy in which Lyse’s domestic footprint becomes an essential part of the foundation for Midgard Infra’s multinational digital ecosystem.

Nordic backbone

That growth on land continues, with a new route between Oslo and Swedish capital Stockholm set to add a further path between two of the region’s largest connectivity hubs.

“The Nordic connectivity market is evolving rapidly,” said Ims when the route was announced earlier this year. “Hyperscalers, data centre operators and carriers are no longer accepting single points of failure as an acceptable operating model. The Oslo-Stockholm route has been designed from the ground up to be genuinely diverse, not just a different name on the same duct.”

With 98% of Norway’s electricity generated from renewable sources, Midgard Infra offers international businesses a sustainable, cost-effective option for cloud expansion.

Harnessing a network shaped by the image of Yggdrasil, Midgard Infra stands as the digital backbone of the Nordics, keeping the region connected and ready for what comes next.