OHM claims to be the main landing point for submarine cables in the Mediterranean, and the move is said to provide Fastweb with access to cables from Asia and Africa. The cables will connect to Fastweb’s fibre optic backbone to Milan, where it can connect to other European hubs, such as Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam and Paris.
“Fastweb has decided to invest in the Open Hub Med consortium in order to contribute to the creation of a high-quality technological hub in Palermo” stated Fabrizio Casati, chief wholesale officer at Fastweb. “The development of the entire country’s economy hinges on the quality of the technological infrastructure and we consider Open Hub Med as a central tool to ensure Italy a key position on the international communications map.”
OHM was launched in November 2015 by a consortium of eight companies, including Interoute, NGI, MIX, SUPERNAP Italia, TelecityGroup Italia, VueTel Italia, XMED and Italtel.
Based in Italtel's research centre in Carini, the OHM data centre claims to be the first neutral and independent technology facility in Southern Italy.