GlobalConnect have initiated a project to establish four new subsea cable systems in the Baltic Sea. The new cables will connect Sweden, Estonia and Finland, creating a 550 km for new long-haul routes. The cables are expected to go live in 2027 at the latest.
New subsea cables (about 300km) will be constructed between Gotland, Sweden to the Estonian islands, Saaremaa, and Hiiumaa, before extending inland through Estonia, via Tallinn and across the Gulf of Finland to Helsinki. In addition, GlobalConnect will deploy several hundred kilometers of terrestrial fibre routes in Estonia.
Fibre ring installed already
In July, GlobalConnect announced an additional project, establishing a 500 km fibre route (150 km sea cable) between Gävle, Stockholm and Helsinki, which will be completed in 2026. With all routes combined, GlobalConnect will offer a 1250 km digital ring in the Baltic Sea.
”We aim to deliver digital infrastructure, futureproofing the Nordics. This requires continuous expansion to keep pace with demand. We’re seeing a rapid increase in the need for secure, high-capacity fibre infrastructure – driven by the fast growth of major data centres and AI hotspots across the region.
The route between Sweden and Estonia is underserved, with existing infrastructure being 30 years old. This new option will allow more traffic to flow, create resilience and offer lower latency,” says Pär Jansson, SVP GlobalConnect Carrier.
The total cost of the new cables is €40 million, of which €15 million Euros has been granted GlobalConnect from the CEF2-project (Connecting Europe Facility). The project is ongoing, securing necessary permits and prerequisites from authorities.
Sabotage in the Baltic and North Seas
Sabotage of cables has become an alarmingly frequent occurrence in the the Baltic and North Seas. In April, nine telecom organisations wrote to authorities in the European Union, NATO and the UK demanding action to secure Europe’s subsea ecosystem. The operators were GlobalConnect, Orange, Proximus, Sparkle (Telecom Italia), Telefónica, Telenor, and Vodafone; the manufacturers are Alcatel Submarine Networks and NKT.
Liisa-Ly Pakosta, Estonian Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs, commented, “This vital project will add significant redundancy in the cross-border connectivity between our nations, the Baltic states and digital hubs in Central Europe, as well as improving the digital resilience in the region”.
Ongoing projects in the region
The project is part of GlobalConnect’s wider ambition to expand the Nordic network with 3,000 km of new fibre in the coming years. In H1 2024, the company completed the construction of the largest digital infrastructure project in the Nordics for the last decade, a cable capable of transporting all data in and out of the region.
This is also one of several GlobalConnect digital infrastructure project to be co-funded by the European Union – see European Union to co-fund latest GlobalConnect digitalization project in Northern Scandinavia.