Brussels plans to make fresh data transmission routes to bypass war areas. We are talking about the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, through which there is simply a immense part of the world's net movement. 1 of the projects involves the construction of an arctic fibre optic cable strategy conducted under the ice of the North Pole.
According to TeleGeography above 90% of net traffic between Europe and Asia support cables moving through the bottom of the Red Sea. Dependence on this way was in the 2024 erstwhile Yemeni Huti rebels attacked the Rubymar ship in the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
SEE: The phrase on the relationship pipeline. Zelenski gave the deadline
The drifting unit, pulling the anchor down the seabed, broke 3 key fibre optics. This event has shown how easy armed conflict can abruptly paralyze publically available digital services. In response, Europe started working on 2 Arctic infrastructure projects - Far North fibre and Polar Connect. The second has already received position EU precedence project.
Europe wants to lead the net through the Arctic
The Polar Connect task assumes construction Undersea fibre optic cable 10 1000 kilometres long. The way is intended to make a fresh Arctic data corridor between Europe, North America and east Asia through the North Pole. The investment is intended to make Europe independent of the network infrastructure moving through the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, and to reduce the transmission time between continents.
The European Union has allocated €5.3 million to the first phase of the task (prepreparatory work and way studies) and €4.97 million to the second phase, the full budget of which is estimated at EUR 9.94 million. In the summertime of 2025, the Swedish icebreaker Oden began mapping the bottom of the Arctic Ocean. By November 2025 approx. 45 percent of the planned route. Another investigation expedition is scheduled for 2026.
NORDUnetThe task involves Nordic countries, the Swedish Polar investigation Secretariat and the NORDUnet academic network operator. The beneficiaries of the second phase are besides GlobalConnect and CSC (Finland). The task is besides supported by GÉANT.
SEE: They saw it in space. It contradicts technological knowledge
Negotiations are underway on a possible participation in the Japan and South Korea project. The full investment cost is expected to be 2 billion dollars, and its launch is to take place by 2030.
- I'm sorry. We are constantly working to guarantee the future of digital infrastructure, allowing faster and safer digital interconnection between Europe, Asia and the United States, we meet the increasing global request for advanced data bandwidth and resilient digital infrastructure that strengthens our society - said Pär Jansson, elder Vice president of GlobalConnect Carrier.
A risky EU project
However, the implementation of Polar Connect will be very difficult. The biggest problem is Arctic ice and icebergswhich can harm underwater fibre optics. Cables are expected to lie up to 4,000 metres below sea level. However, this does not destruct the hazard of failure. The marketplace besides lacks specialist icebreakers capable of laying cables in specified utmost conditions.
SEE: The Germans are investigating a way to clean the city. You can get attractive prizes for garbage
Quintillion has already learned about the difficulties, which in May 2016 began the construction of a fiber-optic connection between Europe and Asia through Alaska. In 2023 the task was stuck in a dead place after the ice twice damaged the cable. In turn, in 2025, due to the deficiency of a suitable icebreaker, the company waited 8 months to repair its equipment.
Such a long hold made the task no longer profitable. akin problems may besides arise during the Polar Connect implementation. For now, the task remains at the phase of investigation and method studies to start in the coming weeks.
