Subsea cable activity is picking up again in the Netherlands, with IOEMA B.V. establishing itself in the country since January and planning a 1,600-kilometre fibre-optic system. The planned route is meant to connect five Northern European markets and come ashore at Eemshaven and near Scheveningen/The Hague, with Greenhouse Datacenters joining Eurofiber as an additional Dutch landing partner. The scale of new buildouts is also why some teams think in terms of network redundancy solutions as they design for uptime.
Those moves sit alongside the Dutch Subsea Cable Coalition’s effort to make the Dutch landing process easier for outside developers and investors—by acting as a central point of contact and by compiling practical information relevant to new landing plans.
IOEMA sets out a 1,600-km fibre system with two Dutch landing areas
IOEMA B.V. has established itself in the Netherlands since January, positioning a new submarine cable company in the Dutch digital infrastructure ecosystem. IOEMA’s planned 1,600-kilometre fibre-optic system is designed to connect five Northern European markets.
The company’s expected Dutch landing points are Eemshaven and an area near Scheveningen/The Hague. Greenhouse Datacenters has been selected as an additional Dutch landing partner for the IOEMA project, alongside Eurofiber.
A planned North Sea route for route diversity in Northern Europe
The planned IOEMA system is intended to add a North Sea route connecting the Netherlands with Germany, the United Kingdom, Denmark and Norway. The planned landings are close to major internet exchange ecosystems, with NL-IX and AMS-IX listed among the world’s ten largest internet exchanges.
IOEMA Holding also includes PACS Southern Route, an entity involved in the Pan-Arctic Cable System, with an aim to connect Europe and Asia via a northern route rather than through the Middle East.
Coalition role: central contact plus support for regulatory and licensing navigation
The Dutch Subsea Cable Coalition is a public-private partnership that brings together companies, infrastructure providers, data centre operators, wholesale end users, knowledge institutions and different levels of government. The coalition aims to strengthen the Netherlands’ position as a digital hub by supporting and attracting new subsea cable landings.
It acts as a central point of contact for international cable developers and investors exploring opportunities in the Netherlands. The coalition supports new cable initiatives by sharing knowledge about the Dutch digital ecosystem, connecting landing parties with relevant stakeholders, and helping them navigate the regulatory and licensing landscape.
Separately, the coalition is working to make cable landings on the Dutch coast easier to navigate by identifying preferred landing locations. For these locations, it is gathering survey data, information on available power infrastructure and backhaul partners, and possible seabed routes, in consultation with relevant government organizations that take into account competing uses of the North Sea.
Policy alignment and industry calendar: European security frameworks
The initiatives described in the Dutch subsea activity push align with areas identified by the European Commission in its Submarine Cable Security Toolkit and Cable Projects of European Interest framework. The article also frames subsea cable security, route diversity and resilience as issues that have moved higher on the European policy agenda.
Coalition representatives are also scheduled to attend Submarine Networks EMEA in London this May, with the coalition to have a stand at the event to discuss recent Dutch developments and preferred landing locations.