EU advances Arctic submarine cables Polar Connect and Far North Fiber to bypass Red Sea chokepoint (xataka.com)

• EU designates Polar Connect as Cable Project of European Interest, allocates €44.6 million.
• Goal to connect Scandinavia to Asia via Arctic by 2030, complemented by Far North Fiber.
• Driven by need to bypass Red Sea chokepoint after 2024 and 2025 cable cuts.

"The EU has designated the Polar Connect Arctic submarine cable as a 'Cable Project of European Interest' and allocated initial funding. The aim is to lay a fiber-optic cable across the Arctic by 2030, connecting Scandinavia to Japan and South Korea. Alongside the Canadian-routed Far North Fiber, it will create a redundant network to bypass the Red Sea, a chokepoint for 90% of Europe-Asia data traffic. The project is led by NORDUnet, GlobalConnect Carrier, and the Swedish Polar Research Agency. Estimated cost is around €2 billion."