Svalbard gets world's northernmost subsea cable system

The Norwegian government has decided to start preparations for the building of the system that ultimately will become a critical asset for transmitting data traffic between the mainland, Jan Mayen, and Svalbard.

Seabed surveys will begin in summer of 2025 and the new cable system is to be ready for operation in 2028.

"It is urgent to get started with the seabed surveys if we are to get the new communication in place by 2028," Minister of Trade and Industry Cecilie Myrseth underlines in a statement.

In order to speed up the process, the government decided to provide funding not through the revised national budget, but with a special proposition to parliament. 

The project is branded as the "Arctic Way" and will cost 2,8 billion kroner (€240 million).

It will stretch from the North Norwegian town of Bodø and include a branch cable to the island of Jan Mayen. 

Currently, Jan Mayen does not have a cable connection to the Norwegian mainland and all communication is made via satellite.

"The building of a subsea cable to Jan Mayen is important for the strengthening of our situational awareness and overview of a strategically crucial area for Norway and our allies," says Minister of Defence Tore O. Sandvik.

The two communication cables that today connect the Norwegian mainland with the Svalbard archipelago were built in 2004 and are planned phased out after 2028. 

The existing cables are owned and operated by Space Norway. The state-owned company is responsible also for the new Arctic Way Cable System. It has teamed up with SubCom system supply, including survey, design, manufacturing and installation.

Space Norway has over many years contributed to enhanced communications across the Arctic. In 2024, it launched a unique new broadband for the remote region. The broadband connection is provided by two satellites launched in summer last year. 

“Broadband in the Arctic will have a significant impact on the Armed Forces and our communication capabilities in the northern regions. It allows us to exercise effective command and control in all types of operations up to the North Pole," the Norwegian defence minister underlined in an official launch ceremony. 

Space Norway has signed a contract with SubCom for the full system supply of the Arctic Way Cable System, including survey, design, manufacturing, and installation.

The island of Jan Mayen and the Svalbard archipelago are located hundreds of kilometres from the Norwegian mainland and communication is of critical importance.

The new cable system is built as mounting threats from hybrid attacks and sabotage spur great concern across the region. In early 2022, someone cut one of the two communication cables that connect the Svalbard archipelago.

Norwegian police soon concluded that the cable had been destroyed by 'human activity.'