HELSINKI (Reuters) - Google said on Monday it planned to invest about 600 million euros ($672 million) in a new data center in Hamina, Finland.
Google, which is owned by Alphabet Inc., already has a data center in Hamina, where it invested 800 million euros to convert an old paper mill. Paper firm Stora Enso sold the site, which is close to the Russian border, to Google in 2009.
Google said the existing Hamina facility was one of its most advanced and efficient data centers. Its cooling system uses seawater from the Gulf of Finland to reduce energy use.
Google’s other European data centers are located in the Netherlands, Ireland and Belgium.
“The demand for Google services is growing daily and we are building our data center infrastructure to match this demand,” Google’s Finland country head Antti Jarvinen said in a statement.
Google suspends business with Huawei after Trump blacklist
Alphabet Inc’s Google has suspended business with Huawei that requires the transfer of hardware, software and technical services except those publicly available via open source licensing, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Sunday, in a blow to the Chinese technology company that the U.S. government has sought to blacklist around the world.
Holders of current Huawei smartphones with Google apps, however, will continue to be able to use and download app updates provided by Google, a Google spokesperson said, confirming earlier reporting by Reuters.
“We are complying with the order and reviewing the implications,” the Google spokesperson said.
“For users of our services, Google Play and the security protections from Google Play Protect will continue to function on existing Huawei devices,” the spokesperson said, without giving further details.
The suspension could hobble Huawei’s smartphone business outside China as the tech giant will immediately lose access to updates to Google’s Android operating system. Future versions of Huawei smartphones that run on Android will also lose access to popular services, including the Google Play Store and Gmail and YouTube apps.
