Can Nokia’s network fabric give Empyrion Digital an edge in Korea’s growing data centre market?

Empyrion Digital, a rapidly expanding digital infrastructure provider in Asia, has selected Nokia to deliver high-performance, scalable connectivity for its KR1 Gangnam Data Center in Seoul. The partnership marks Nokia’s first deployment of its Data Center Fabric solution in South Korea. The project includes the deployment of Nokia’s 7250 Interconnect Routers, 7220 and 7210 series switches, and its automation-powered Fabric Services System to support energy-efficient, low-latency connectivity.

The KR1 facility, located in Seoul’s affluent Gangnam district, is Empyrion’s flagship South Korean data centre and is designed to serve as a regional gateway for cloud providers and enterprise customers. This high-density data centre will support artificial intelligence workloads and high-performance computing, both of which demand ultra-low-latency, high-throughput networking solutions. According to Nokia, the deployment addresses these needs while also supporting key operational goals such as automation, power usage effectiveness (PUE), and long-term sustainability.

How does Nokia’s Data Center Fabric solution enable automation, energy savings and low-latency performance?

Nokia’s solution for Empyrion is built around a Clos-type network fabric, which can scale out horizontally and provide non-blocking connectivity for AI workloads. At the core of this architecture are Nokia’s 7250 IXR series routers, which offer throughput in the range of hundreds of terabits per second. These are complemented by 7220 switches designed for high-density 400 Gb/s Ethernet and the 7210 Service Access System (SAS), which aggregates traffic from edge nodes to the core.

In addition to its hardware, Nokia offers the Fabric Services System—a network automation and management platform that simplifies provisioning, error diagnosis, and lifecycle management. Using intent-based networking, operators like Empyrion can configure networks by defining desired outcomes, with the system automatically generating required configurations. This reduces the time and effort required for manual intervention, shortens deployment timelines, and lowers operating expenditure.

Nokia also emphasizes energy efficiency through silicon photonics and advanced power management technologies. The company claims the 7250 IXR offers up to 1.5 times more capacity per watt compared to conventional routers. The 7210 SAS includes chipsets designed for low power consumption and adaptable cooling. These features are critical for Empyrion, which has stated that sustainability is central to its strategy and that it aims to align with South Korea’s carbon reduction and green infrastructure goals.

Why does this deal matter for South Korea’s digital infrastructure and hyperscaler competition?

Empyrion Digital, backed by global infrastructure investor DigitalBridge, is expanding its footprint in Asia at a time when regional demand for colocation and hyperscale facilities is accelerating. Its entry into the Korean market through the KR1 facility aligns with government initiatives to decentralize data centre growth away from traditional zones like Pangyo and Sangam. The Gangnam location provides proximity to financial institutions, media companies, and AI development labs, giving Empyrion a strategic edge in tenant acquisition.

Yongsuk Choi, chief strategy officer at Empyrion, indicated that Nokia was chosen after a multi-vendor evaluation and cited its superior combination of performance, energy savings, and local support capabilities. Meanwhile, Nokia’s Asia-Pacific IP Networks Vice President, Kent Wong, framed the deal as validation of Nokia’s ability to deliver automation, operational flexibility, and green credentials in mission-critical data centre environments.

For South Korea, the partnership reflects an evolving vendor landscape. While domestic players like KT, SK Broadband, and Naver Cloud have traditionally led large-scale deployments, global entrants are becoming more prominent. Empyrion’s selection of Nokia—over traditional incumbents like Cisco, Juniper Networks, and Arista Networks—may prompt reevaluations of vendor strategy by other regional players looking to scale cost-effectively and sustainably.

How does this partnership fit into broader Asia–Pacific data centre investment trends?

The Asia–Pacific data centre market is growing rapidly, driven by cloud adoption, AI expansion, and regulatory pressures around data sovereignty. Countries including South Korea, Singapore, India, and Japan are competing to become regional data infrastructure hubs. According to Structure Research, South Korea’s colocation market is projected to grow by 7–9% CAGR through 2030.

Empyrion’s KR1 Gangnam facility joins a wave of regional investments focused on high-density, low-latency facilities. However, the operational bar is rising: enterprises and hyperscalers expect automation, flexibility, and increasingly, verifiable sustainability metrics. This is pushing operators to adopt modular infrastructure, AI-driven energy controls, and disaggregated network fabrics.

Nokia’s role in this transformation is especially notable. While it historically focused on telco routing and 5G networks, the company has increasingly repositioned itself as a cloud infrastructure enabler. Its Data Center Fabric is marketed as a carrier-grade solution designed to meet both cloud-native and legacy enterprise needs. If successful at KR1, Nokia may be better positioned to challenge the market dominance of U.S.-based competitors in Asia’s multi-billion-dollar data centre expansion.

How are markets and investors reacting to Nokia’s data centre fabric strategy and diversification?

Nokia Corporation (HEL: NOKIA) has undergone significant transformation over the past decade, exiting the consumer handset business and refocusing on IP networking, optical transport, and software-defined infrastructure. Investors now evaluate the company based on its ability to drive growth across 5G infrastructure, optical networking, and enterprise data centre markets.

Although Nokia did not disclose the value of the Empyrion deal, the strategic nature of the deployment contributes positively to sentiment around the company’s diversification strategy. Shareholders have shown optimism when the company announces wins in IP routing or optical segments, particularly when tied to hyperscaler or enterprise deployments. The Empyrion collaboration could serve as proof of concept for broader data centre penetration in Asia, and successful execution may support investor confidence ahead of future earnings cycles.

For Empyrion Digital—privately held under DigitalBridge—this is a strategic positioning move. Data centre operators backed by infrastructure funds are increasingly evaluated on their tenant mix, energy efficiency, and ability to meet high-density requirements. Nokia’s automation and sustainability-oriented approach helps de-risk operations, potentially increasing asset value. In a sector witnessing robust M&A activity, from Digital Realty to Equinix, partnerships that reduce operational volatility while increasing PUE performance may command premium valuations.

Why this collaboration signals a turning point in performance-centric and sustainability-driven network deployments

From a strategic lens, the Nokia–Empyrion collaboration demonstrates how energy efficiency, automation, and modular design are becoming baseline requirements for next-generation data centres. The partnership is not just about building another facility—it’s about building the right kind of facility. Empyrion’s focus on sustainability and network flexibility aligns with changing customer expectations, and Nokia’s modular fabric addresses scalability without locking operators into legacy architectures.

The deployment also has a symbolic dimension. It marks Nokia’s formal entry into Korea’s competitive data centre ecosystem and could be a stepping stone toward further projects across East Asia. It also challenges assumptions that only U.S. or Chinese vendors can lead in hyperscale network fabrics, particularly when energy and automation are front-of-mind.

If the KR1 facility succeeds in achieving low-latency, low-PUE operation at scale, the case for Nokia’s broader relevance in the data centre market strengthens. For Empyrion, the value lies in being able to attract premium clients—especially hyperscalers and financial institutions—by offering robust, future-ready infrastructure. As Asia continues to digitize at a rapid pace, infrastructure built with this forward-leaning philosophy may well define the next wave of regional market leaders.