LG U+ to construct another massive data center, in Anyang

Industry

Published: 13 Jun. 2021, 18:06

LG U+ to construct another massive data center, in Anyang

A computer image of LG U+'s second hyperscale data center in Anyang, Gyeonggi, set for completion in 2023. [LG U+]

Mobile carrier LG U+ announced plans on Sunday to build another mass-scale data center in Anyang, Gyeonggi.

The site will measure 40,450 square meters (435,400 square feet), equivalent to around six football fields. It will be a 12-story building and the Seoul metropolitan area's seventh “hyperscale” data center, which refers to data centers containing more than 100,000 servers.

For LG U+, Korea’s third largest telecom operator, this will be its second hyperscale data center, following its first in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi.

A new data center was a necessity, LG claimed, considering the demand for IT services and cloud among corporate clients has rapidly been on the rise.

In the past five years, LG U+’s revenue from the internet data center business grew at an annual average of 10 percent to reach 227.8 billion won ($204.4 million) in 2020, according to the company.

The mobile carrier stressed that the new data center will be environmentally friendly. Its walls will be made with material that may increase energy efficiency when cooling down servers. The office unit inside the data center will be powered via renewable energy such as solar power.

Combined, LG estimates the energy cutting efforts will be able to save 140 gigawatt hours of electricity per year, which has the same effect as planting 900,000 pine trees.

BY SONG KYOUNG-SON [song.kyoungson@joongang.co.kr]