Network sovereignty for companies

Trusted Advisor for IT & Telecommunications Sourcing

Strategically enforce data control, EU compliance & secure connectivity

A single contract with the wrong provider can be enough: Data that is physically located in Europe is still subject to US law. Those who do not actively manage network sovereignty relinquish control over their own infrastructure.

In a nutshell:

The US CLOUD Act allows US authorities to access data from US providers worldwide, regardless of the physical storage location
GDPR, NIS-2, DORA and the AI Act increase the pressure: European companies must be able to demonstrate data sovereignty in a structured manner
75 percent of companies outside the USA will introduce active digital sovereignty strategies by 2030, according to Gartner

The solution:
Sovereign connectivity via EU-controlled network infrastructure, encrypted transmission paths with customer-managed keys and contracts with EU legal personality create the basis for genuine network sovereignty.

Read on to find out how companies can implement network sovereignty structurally and build the right architecture with SAVECALL.

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Explained by experts:

Why network sovereignty needs to be on the agenda now

European companies are facing a structural challenge: the dominant cloud infrastructure belongs to US providers. And with the US CLOUD Act, US authorities can request data from these providers, regardless of where the data is physically stored. This applies to US companies themselves, but also to all providers with a US parent company, US subsidiaries or a legal presence in the US.

As a result, data stored on servers in Frankfurt or Amsterdam is not automatically protected from access by US authorities. Those who do not actively address this have a sovereignty gap in their own infrastructure.

At the same time, the regulatory framework is increasing the pressure considerably. GDPR, NIS-2, DORA, the AI Act and country-specific requirements such as Germany’s C5 certification or France’s SecNumCloud are forcing companies to no longer just claim data sovereignty, but to provide structured proof of it. This means that security and compliance are no longer internal IT issues, but management board topics with personal liability relevance.

Modern cable-stayed bridge under a blue sky - symbol of stable connections, Site Connectivity and IT infrastructure by Savecall.

Where the sovereignty gaps arise

The three critical levels

Network sovereignty is not a binary yes-no concept. It arises or is absent on several levels simultaneously.

Data in transit: The underestimated attack surface

While the debate often revolves around data storage, one critical level often goes unnoticed: Data in transit between locations, data centers and cloud environments. If you have no control over the network path, you don’t know which jurisdictions your data is traveling through. And those who do not use end-to-end encryption with customer-managed keys have no guarantee that third parties will not gain access

Treaty level: EU legal personality as a basic requirement

A contract with a non-European parent company is not sufficient. The decisive factor is whether the contract is concluded with an EU legal entity, whether EU law applies as the applicable law and whether the provider’s Binding Corporate Rules guarantee GDPR compliance regardless of the location of the operating teams.

Operations: Who actually has access?

Even if data remains in the EU and contracts are governed by EU law: If operating teams outside the EU have access to infrastructure, monitoring systems or support functions, operational sovereignty gaps arise. Strict compliance requirements explicitly require EU-exclusive operating models.

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The architecture of superior connectivity

Sovereign network architecture for companies with secure digital connection levels in a modern office building, SAVECALL ITK-Beratung

Network sovereignty at infrastructure level can be mapped in four specific layers.

Path control: data remains in the EU

At Layer 1 level, dedicated optical wavelengths (Wave) enable physically isolated connections via dedicated fiber optic infrastructure that remains entirely within the EU. No public Internet, no transit through third countries, no shared infrastructure. The network path is deterministic and auditable.

At Layer 2 level, intelligent path control functions (Smart Path) allow the dynamic definition of EU-exclusive routes for Ethernet connections. Companies can define that no failover takes place outside the EU jurisdiction.

Encryption: Keys managed by the customer

Sovereign encryption does not mean that the provider encrypts. It means that the customer holds and manages the cryptographic keys themselves. No third party, including the network provider, can access the data without the active involvement of the customer. In addition, quantum-safe options are already being used productively today, which will also withstand future attack vectors by quantum computers.

Sovereign cloud connection

Connecting to European sovereign cloud providers such as Gaia-X-compatible platforms, T-Systems Open Telekom Cloud or OVHcloud requires dedicated connectivity that remains entirely within European jurisdictions. The path from corporate sites to sovereign cloud environments must not include jurisdictional changes.

Contract structure: EU law as standard, not as an option

The following applies to each of these connectivity elements: The contract must be concluded with an EU legal entity. The applicable law must be EU law. And the provider’s Binding Corporate Rules must guarantee GDPR compliance regardless of where operating teams are active.

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The spectrum of sovereignty

Which solution suits which requirements

Not every company needs the same level of sovereignty. The right approach depends on the industry, regulatory framework and risk appetite.

Requirement	Technology	Sovereignty level
Basic EU compliance	SD-WAN, IP VPN, Internet Access	Medium
Increased control and flexibility	Ethernet On Demand with Smart Path	High
Maximum sovereignty	Dedicated wavelength (wave) with encryption	Very high

For companies subject to DORA, operators of critical infrastructure and public authorities, the upper end of the spectrum is not an option, but a regulatory requirement.

Network sovereignty and compliance: what NIS-2 and DORA actually require

NIS-2 explicitly requires affected companies to take measures to secure the supply chain, access control and network segmentation. DORA requires financial institutions to prove that critical ICT service providers and their subcontractors comply with data protection requirements. Both sets of regulations make it clear that it is not enough to be compliant yourself. The entire connectivity chain must be demonstrably sovereign.

Anyone who still has connectivity contracts with US parent companies, operates encryption via provider-managed keys or cannot provide proof of EU-exclusive network paths has a concrete compliance gap.

Why network sovereignty is an infrastructure decision, not a legal department task

Network sovereignty is treated as a legal issue in many companies: Contract review, GDPR documentation, DPIAs. This falls short. The contract does not decide whether data actually leaves the EU. It is the network architecture that decides.

A company that contracts with the right provider under EU law, but transports data via public Internet paths with provider-managed keys, does not have a sovereign infrastructure. True network sovereignty means: path control on layer 1 or 2, customer-side key management, EU-exclusive operating models and contract structures that legally secure all of this.

Zero exposure as a goal: what sovereign connectivity achieves structurally

Those who understand network sovereignty as an infrastructure principle and not as a compliance checkbox create a foundation that can do both: fulfill regulatory requirements and remain operationally efficient. This is not a theoretical ideal. It is the reality for European companies that want to remain capable of acting in 2026.

The solution

Sovereign infrastructure as a strategic advantage

Do you want to set up your network connectivity with confidence and meet compliance requirements from NIS-2, DORA and GDPR in a structured manner? SAVECALL supports companies in the evaluation, selection and implementation of sovereign connectivity solutions, from dedicated EU paths to Quantum-Safe Encryption and DORA-compliant contract structures. Get in touch with us. Together, we will analyze where your sovereignty gaps lie and what makes sense for your infrastructure today and in the long term.

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