IIJ Group Begins Field Trial of Globally Distributed ICT Infrastructure in Iceland

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TOKYO – April 18, 2023 - Internet Initiative Japan Inc. (TSE Prime: 3774), one of Japan's leading Internet access and comprehensive network solutions providers, and its wholly owned UK subsidiary IIJ Europe Limited (London), today announced the start of a field trial in Iceland with the cooperation of Landsvirkjun, Iceland's national power company (Reykjavík, Iceland). In the trial taking place from this April to March 2024, a micro data center (MDC) serviced by IIJ is being installed in the Landsvirkjun Írafoss hydropower station in southern Iceland, and testing will be conducted on the way to establishing ICT infrastructure for integrated operation and management of data centers distributed across countries and regions.
Located approximately halfway between the American and European continents, Iceland is geographically well situated to become a North Atlantic communications hub. A further reason for choosing Iceland for the trial is the availability of electric power from 100% renewable energy, which is in line with IIJ initiatives toward achieving carbon neutrality in its own data centers.

An MDC is a data center housing the air conditioning units for server cooling, UPS (uninterruptible power supply), security cameras and other equipment and functions needed in a data center, all in a compact size (height approx. 1 to 2 meters), with the advantage of being installable both indoors and outside. Aims of the field trial include testing the capability of operation in an unmanned environment, without offices in the vicinity, and verifying the market potential for distributed backup across countries and regions, such as in "data embassies" (data storage facilities inside the territory of alliance partners). In this field trial, IIJ Europe will be responsible for remote control of the MDC installed in Iceland, while the IIJ Group as a whole will conduct verifications aimed at value creation through linkage with cloud, IoT and other services.

Outline of the field trial

Term

April 2023 to March 2024

Verifications to be made

1. Remote operation in an unmanned environment
   IIJ Europe will perform remote control of the MDC from London, verifying stable administration and autonomous operation. The trial will seek to confirm the capability of enduring long-time operation in an unmanned environment with no offices in the vicinity to perform maintenance.
2. Linkage with various IIJ services
   The MDC will be added to the sites receiving the data backup service provided in the United States, and operation will be tested among Iceland, US and IIJ Europe’s branches in UK and Germany. Also to be studied is the potential of measures toward new value creation through linkage with IoT, security, and other services.
3. Test marketing of an MDC powered by 100% renewable energy.
   The MDC used in this field trial will, with the cooperation of the Landsvirkjun power company, have 100% of its electricity supplied from renewable energy. In Europe and elsewhere, enterprises are stepping up their carbon neutrality initiatives, and face strict requirements for disclosure of sustainability information. Through test marketing of the MDC powered by 100% renewable energy, new demand will be sought.

The Írafoss hydropower station



Endorsement

The Embassy of Iceland welcomes the decision of IIJ to select Iceland as site for its micro data center. It demonstrates a clear commitment of IIJ towards more sustainable business practices, in response to the global need to protect our planet. The fact that 100% of electricity needs are met with renewables in Iceland, in addition to its cool climate, creates ideal conditions for companies to host data in green, environmentally friendly data centers. It is indeed our hope that this will be the beginning of a successful partnership that will lead to further projects by IIJ in Iceland.

STEFÁN HAUKUR JÓHANNESSON
the Ambassador of Iceland to Japan

The IIJ Group will continue drawing on the experience and technology in network infrastructure operation built up over many years, endeavoring to develop global services and solutions.

About Landsvirkjun

Landsvirkjun, founded July 1, 1965 in Reykjavík as Iceland’s national power company, is the country’s largest electric power supplier. It operates 18 power stations in five regions of Iceland.

• https://www.landsvirkjun.com/.

About IIJ Europe

IIJ Europe, based in London and Dusseldorf was formerly Exlayer established in 2001 and is now a wholly owned subsidiary of IIJ. IIJ Europe utilises and embraces the latest internet technologies to design, deliver and manage highly qualified and experienced IT solutions. The company also offers IIJ GIO EU Service, its flagship cloud computing service to European enterprises.

• For more information about the company, visit the IIJ Europe Web site at https://www.iijeurope.com/.

About IIJ

Founded in 1992, IIJ is one of Japan's leading Internet-access and comprehensive network solutions providers. IIJ and its group companies provide total network solutions that mainly cater to high-end corporate customers. IIJ's services include high-quality Internet connectivity services, systems integration, cloud computing services, security services and mobile services. Moreover, IIJ has built one of the largest Internet backbone networks in Japan that is connected to the United States, the United Kingdom and Asia. IIJ was listed on the Prime Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2022.

• For more information about IIJ, visit the IIJ Web site at https://www.iij.ad.jp/en/.

The statements within this release contain forward-looking statements about our future plans that involve risk and uncertainty. These statements may differ materially from actual future events or results.

For inquiries, contact

IIJ Corporate Communications

• +81-3-5205-6310
• +81-3-5205-6377
• press@iij.ad.jp

• (*) All company names and service names used in this press release are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.