The next subproject of Polar Connect begins, bringing together five Nordic stakeholders to secure the future of global digital infrastructure.
Polar Connect is an initiative to establish a sustainable and reliable fibre connection between Europe and Asia, along a new route via the Arctic Ocean. The European Commission is granting 4 million Euro in funding for the next subproject of Polar Connect, named Polar Connect Step 1 (23-EU-DIG-PC1).
The Project
The Swedish Research Council, through Sunet, coordinates Polar Connect Step 1 and has been awarded the EU funds together with NORDUnet, the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat, the Technical University of Denmark, and GlobalConnect. In Polar Connect Step 1, the technical, economic, and political conditions for a new fibre connection with Asia will be established. The work begins with planning for a fibre-optic cable between the Nordic Arctic region and East Asia via the Arctic Ocean.
NORDUnet will contribute to technical planning and design, especially route planning, security guidelines and preparation of marine survey tenders. NORDUnet will contribute to a roadmap for the application of optical fibre sensing technology for both cable integrity and environmental monitoring. NORDUnet will part of commercial planning, engaging with relevant private and public actors, working towards a market study and a provisional business plan, an important new phase of Polar Connect.
Funding from the European Commission will allow the project use the Swedish icebreaker Oden for mapping the Arctic seabed, one of the world’s most unexplored regions. Fibre-optic submarine cables are manufactured based on the properties of the seabed, rolled onto a ship, and must be laid with great precision. accurate measurements of the seabed are essential before determining the exact route and manufacturing the cable. By mapping the Arctic seabed, we gather data for Polar Connect while at the same time collecting valuable data that can enhance researchers’ understanding of the Arctic.
Background
Today, approximately 90% of data communication between Europe and Asia travels via the Red Sea, which presents both geographic and geopolitical challenges. Polar Connect’s route through the Arctic is the shortest and least risky path between Europe and Asia. The two continents will be provided with secure, ultra-high data transfer capacity through 16 to 24 fibre pairs. Polar Connect is also half the length of current connections, which reduces the time required to send a data packet by the same proportion.
Read more about Polar Connect at the NORDUnet website, and a press release (in Swedish) from the Sweedish Research Council.
*Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or HaDEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
