Polar Connect aims to ensure digital communication between Europe and East Asia. To achieve this, a subsea cable will be established through the Arctic Ocean from Northern Europe to Japan and South Korea

North Pole Fiber is important in establishing resilient fiber routes in Northern Sweden, from Kiruna to the Norwegian border, to be extended to the Arctic Ocean coast where Polar Connect will land. Learn more about the project from the project website, such as facts about the project, news and activities.

Moreover, North Pole Fiber is investigating possibilities for equipping the cable with sensors in order to make the cable an instrument for Arctic research and environmental monitoring. This could enable continuous measurement of environmental parameters in one of the least investigated areas of Earth - the deep ocean under the Arctic ice sheet.

The  Polar Connect will in a later stage connect Europe, Asia and North America, providing us state-of-the-art data connectivity along the shortest route, avoiding the challenges presented by conflicts along traditional routes, such as the Suez Canal, Red Sea and the Strait of Malacca. 

Timeline

The North Pole Fiber project runs for 36 months, from January 1st  2024 until December 31st 2026.

Project Partners

Polar Connect is a Nordic initiative, developed by NORDUnet, the Swedish Research Council, and the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat. The Initiative is funded by the Swedish Government, the European Commission, and NORDUnet, representing Sunet (Sweden), CSC (Finland), Sikt (Norway), DeiC (Denmark), and RHnet (Iceland).

The North Pole Fiber Project is co-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.

Project acronym: 22-EU-DIG-NPF