Industry organizations call for digital infrastructure investment

The Netherlands must quickly invest in digital infrastructure to remain economically relevant in the near future. Digitale Infrastructuur Nederland (DINL), the Dutch Data Center Association (DDA), BTG for IT and communication technology, and the Fiber Carrier Association (FCA) stated this in a letter to the House of Representatives.

“There is a great need for an investment agenda,” says Marijn van Vliet, director of DINL. ”The Draghi report is clear about the task ahead for Europe: an annual investment of €750-800 billion is needed to future-proof Europe's competitive position. The Netherlands must now invest in its digital infrastructure to reap the economic benefits of developments such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and edge computing. Without a clear investment agenda, the Netherlands will miss economic opportunities and the chance to safeguard its public values in the digital future.”

Urgency

The letter's signatories point out, among other things, that the last intercontinental sea cables between the Netherlands and the US are reaching the end of their lifespan, and there are no plans to replace them. In addition, there is currently no prospect of funding for any of the four AI gigafactories in the Netherlands. Problems with the energy grid are also causing major bottlenecks. The urgency is great, and delay is costly.

“If the Netherlands wants to remain a digital leader, we must invest now in infrastructure, innovation, and space,” said Stijn Grove, director of the DDA. ”Without targeted policy and structural investments, we will lose ground; our AI and digital sovereignty ambitions will become unattainable. International companies are increasingly choosing other countries because of extreme network congestion, with the Netherlands having the longest waiting times in Europe, and a lack of clear policy on data centers. The Competitiveness Compass is a wake-up call: now is the time to take action. Only with strategically designated locations—with space, land, and power—can we create sustainable growth locations for multifunctional data center campuses.”

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“Digital sovereignty and economic resilience cannot be taken for granted. To maintain and perpetuate this, we must now strengthen the foundations of our digital infrastructure through targeted investment,” says Petra Claessen, chair of BTG. ”Not only for tomorrow's technologies such as AI and quantum, but above all to safeguard public values and social inclusion. The digital transition affects all sectors. That is why we call for an integrated approach in which the government, the business community, and knowledge institutions work together. Only in this way can we build a future-proof society in which technology continues to serve our society.”

Recommendations

The most striking recommendations in the letter include:

1. Establishment of a 'digital infrastructure fund' to finance investments in digital infrastructure and make co-financing available to attract European funds. This fund should focus on landing new intercontinental sea cables and developing multifunctional data center campuses in suitable locations.

2. Develop a public-private investment strategy aimed at attracting a European AI factory and participating in European IPCEI projects such as the ongoing MISD (secure by design edge computing infrastructure) and ECOFED (European cloud ecosystem) projects. This also includes investments in European open-source alternatives to widely used cloud services.

3. Deepening the entrepreneurial and investment climate for digital innovation, focusing on regulations surrounding shares as remuneration, more investment opportunities for pension funds in R&D activities, and introducing the 'New Competition Tool' to address competition problems in digital markets.