A plan was announced to demonstrate connectivity via low-latency networks such as APN for a distributed data center project involving Internet Initiative and 3 sites in Kyushu, which was selected for the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications' Watt-Bit integration demonstration project. The demonstration will run from August 2026 through February 2027.
Internet Initiative announced that a jointly proposed social demonstration project for distributed data centers, submitted with 6 companies including Kyushu Electric Power, had been selected for the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications' FY2026 demonstration project related to Watt-Bit integration. The project covers 3 data centers in Kyushu, which will be connected by low-latency networks such as APN.
The data centers in Genkai Town, Saga Prefecture, Itoshima City, Fukuoka Prefecture, and Fukuoka Airport will be operated virtually as a single large-scale data center, with use cases tested in 4 fields: healthcare and nursing care, manufacturing, local government, and urban development. The project will also consider, as a future possibility, off-grid distributed data centers operated as an integrated system with renewable energy and storage batteries.