• Far North Fiber, a joint venture between companies in Japan, the United States, and Finland, plans to build the first-of-its-kind pan-Arctic submarine cable system connecting Scandinavia, North America, Ireland, and Japan, with a route study underway to define the fastest and most secure route. [highnorthnews.com, nhk.or.jp]
  • The planned 1 billion dollar cable system, with funding from the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility (CEF Digital), aims to connect Japan and Europe via the Arctic seabed, boosting data transmission speeds by more than 20 percent compared to other pathways and reducing geopolitical risks. [nhk.or.jp, highnorthnews.com]
  • The 15,000km cable system will run from Japan, via the Northwest Passage, to Europe with a landing in Alaska and European landings in Norway, adjacent to Finland, and Ireland. [capacitymedia.com]
  • The development of Arctic cables is driven by considerations of digital sovereignty, critical infrastructure protection, and geopolitical concerns. [subtelforum.com]
  • The cable project is set to go live by 2027, with Nokia’s subsidiary Alcatel Submarine Networks manufacturing the parts, and the European Commission is calling for better security of underwater networks and new cable projects to fill strategic gaps. [politico.eu]

Sources:

  • valtioneuvosto.fi (Finnish)
  • subtelforum.com (English)
  • businesspost.ie (English)
  • nhk.or.jp (Japanese)
  • highnorthnews.com (English)
  • capacitymedia.com (English)
  • politico.eu (English)

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