Quick -- what's the first thing you associate with Iceland? Glaciers and blondes, right? According to a PricewaterhouseCoopers study (and some lobbying from the Invest in Iceland Agency), the country should be associated with data centers.
Not only is the Nordic country an ideal choice for toasty data centers with its chilly climate, but the geothermal and hydroelectric power sources could keep the electricity bills low.
"The study showed that Iceland offers a lower cost for data centers than the US, the UK and even India," boasted an Agency spokesperson. "Iceland also has the second lowest corporate tax in the OECD at 15 per cent, highly skilled IT labor at competitive prices, and low land and lease costs."
Sounds great, right? Well, there's a catch -- and no, it's not the walrus attacks. It turns out that the island is only running 720 Gbps cable connections today, with 1.9 Tbps to 3.8 Tbps speeds due next year. Still, by our calculations that should give us just enough time to pack our cubicles and cook up some half-baked startup ideas.
For all the deets on Iceland's data center superiority, be sure to check out the report at the Agency's website.
Photo: Flickr/Petursey
[Via ITNews]
