Oracle has signed an agreement with Italian broadcaster Rai Way to install its systems for artificial intelligence (AI) at the latter's data centers in Italy.

Oracle's customers will be able to access Oracle's database services, cloud computing, disaster recovery, and AI applications at Rai Way's data centers, reports Reuters.

Rai Ways data centers are located across Italy, some in remote areas. According to the companies, this will add a "further layer of protection against any attempts by cyber-criminals to locate data geographically."

In April 2023, Rai Way announced its Edge data center network project. The company planned to develop a platform of 18 Edge data centers covering 20 Italian regions for a combined IT capacity of 3.4MW, as well as a 4MW data center in Milan and a 40MW data center in Rome.

The data centers will be connected via a Rai Way fiber optic backbone. The first data centers are set to go live in the second half of 2024 and will be in Central-Northern Italy.

The following year, Rai committed to investing €140 million ($151.6m) in developing data centers in the country.

Rai provides the broadcasting infrastructure for the Italian state television company RAI.

Rai Way is set to merge with El Towers in a deal valued at more than €2 billion ($2.17bn).

Oracle launched its first Italian region in Milan in late 2021. The company announced plans for a second Italian cloud region, to be located in Turin, in partnership with Telecom Italia (TIM) earlier this year.