The Research and Education (R&E) Networks are Preparing for Participation in the Far North Fiber Submarine Cable Project

The new Far North Fiber (FNF) cable system will open a new, high secure and fast route connecting three continents in the global R&E community.

It is good news for users in the research and education communities of the Nordic countries that an entirely new high-capacity route is currently under development by an international joint development company Far North Fiber, Inc.

The FNF Submarine Cable System will interconnect Scandinavia and Japan, through the Northern Arctic, including landings e.g., in U.S, Canada, and Ireland. The Scandinavian/Nordics landing stations will be in Northern Norway and Finland.

Far North Fiber project is executed together by Cinia Oy from Finland, Far North Digital from US and ARTERIA Networks Corporation from Japan. It is estimated that the nearly 17,000 km cable system will be ready for service by the end of 2026.

NORDUnet has signed a Letter of Intent with Far North Fiber, Inc, expressing interest in a dedicated fiber pair in the FNF Submarine Cable System between Norway/Finland and Japan. This could potentially also include other landing points pending interest from Research & Education Network organizations.

“The Nordics are in a unique position to pioneer a fiber pair for Nordic and European Research and Education, on a completely new route. This project, once realized, will enhance the collaboration landscape between R&E partners in The Nordics, Europe, North America and Japan. In addition, it will boost Nordic regional development and significantly enhance European digital sovereignty,” says NORDUnet CEO Valter Nordh.

NORDUnet is also currently working on forging a consortium of National and Regional R&E organizations in Europe, Asia, and possibly North America, that jointly plans to invest in the cable pair for the lifetime of the system.

“We are pleased to welcome the international research and education community, headed by NORDUnet, to leverage the benefits obtainable from the unique Far North Fiber opportunity. As an engine customer with a highly positive boost to the FNF project, the R&E networks are signaling the importance of global digital infrastructure enabling new routes, additional capacity and increased diversity,” says Mr. Ari-Jussi Knaapila, the CEO of Cinia Oy, the Finnish Partner in the Far North Fiber Inc.

This fiber pair in FNF cable system will be among the first intercontinental fiber pairs in history owned and managed by the research and education communities. The ownership will contribute to securing connectivity in an age where the ability to transmit large data sets and conduct distance learning and conferencing is absolutely imperative. On top of that, R&E users in all of Europe will experience further benefits in terms of lower cost, access to larger bandwidths, improved latencies and increased resilience.