Lithuania becomes key link in Europe’s digital backbone with Arelion’s new Baltic network

The Baltic region has just gained a major infrastructural upgrade, and Lithuania is ideally positioned to reap the rewards. Arelion has announced the completion of a fully diverse, high-capacity terrestrial route between Helsinki and Warsaw, thereby creating a resilient ring for data traffic that supports the region’s expanding data center and cloud infrastructure ecosystem and interconnects Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland.

By bypassing traditional bottlenecks such as Stockholm and Copenhagen, this new route not only reduces latency between the Baltics and Western Europe, but significantly strengthens connectivity, diversity and resilience in a geopolitically sensitive region.

For Lithuania, this infrastructure development is more than just another fibre-optic path: it positions the country as a strategic data center location, a key junction in the North-South digital corridor linking Nordic innovation with Central European capacity.

Why Lithuania stands to benefit

Strategic connectivity

The new route explicitly links PoPs (Points of Presence) in Vilnius — for instance, the Delska DC2 (formerly RackRay) facility and the Vilnius TV Tower data centre. This means Lithuanian enterprises, hyperscalers and regional cloud providers now have access to backbone-grade connectivity with low latency and higher reliability – key performance factors for hyperscale and AI data center operations.

Data centre momentum

According to recent market research, the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) host more than 20 data centre providers across 50+ facilities. Lithuania currently features the largest facilities in the Baltic region. At the same time, detailed analysis shows Lithuania is rapidly emerging as a hotspot for high-performance computing (HPC) and AI-oriented facilities thanks to its favourable energy environment, skilled workforce and business-friendly climate.

Green, stable energy supports growth

Modern data centres demand massive power, cooling and redundancy. Lithuania has made significant strides in renewable energy and grid reliability: it is targeting a 70 % renewable electricity share by 2030 and aims for energy self-sufficiency by 2035. For investors seeking sustainability and low-carbon operations, this is a key differentiator.

Digital sovereignty and resilience

The Arelion route project is partly funded by the Connecting Europe Facility 2 (CEF2) programme, reflecting the EU’s strategic push for digital sovereignty and diversified infrastructure in historically underserved regions. For Lithuania, participating in this value chain adds geopolitical as well as commercial weight.

Looking ahead: What will make Lithuania an even more competitive data center investment destination?

• Further fibre-diversification to Western Europe. While Helsinki-Warsaw is strong, additional routes branching via Lithuania to Germany, the Nordics and the UK would further reduce latency and make Vilnius a transit and data center connectivity hub.
• Scale-up of data centre campuses. As demand for AI, edge compute, hyperscale grows, Lithuania should enable larger MW-scale campuses, ideally adjacent to renewable-powered energy hubs. Market reports show space is growing but still modest compared to leading Western hubs.
• Edge and latency-sensitive services. With the new route in place, Lithuania can position itself for low-latency services (financial trading, gaming, real-time analytics) by promoting PoPs in Vilnius and Kaunas tied into the ring.
• Regulatory and tax incentives. Ensuring that data-centre-friendly regulations, local talent pipelines and fiscal incentives are in place will attract global players.
• Green energy and cooling ecosystem. Data centers increasingly value green credentials: continuing progress on renewables, waste-heat reuse and energy flexibility will boost Lithuania’s attractiveness.

In short, the Arelion expansion is a clear vote of confidence in the Baltic region’s digital future –and for Lithuania, it marks a pivotal moment. With a strengthened fiber ring, growing data-centre infrastructure, and a green, forward-looking energy strategy, Lithuania is poised to become a leading data-infrastructure hub in Northern Europe.

As the digital demand accelerates – for cloud, AI, and hyperscale workloads – Lithuania has the connectivity, location and ambition to turn this infrastructure upgrade into long-term competitive advantage.

As investors assess Europe’s evolving digital infrastructure landscape, Lithuania’s mix of connectivity, green energy, and business readiness stands out. Get in touch with our team to learn more about data center investment opportunities in Lithuania.