An international consortium of companies formed a joint corporation to work towards development of a submarine fiber optic system connecting Asia and Europe through the Arctic. Far North Fiber, Inc., brings together Finland’s Cinia Oy, Alaska’s Far North Digital and Japan’s ARTERIA Networks Corporation. The team will promote a system that aims to realize a faster and more secure route directly connecting Japan, North America, and Ireland and Scandinavia.
Far North Fiber, Inc. estimates that the nearly 17,000 km system will be ready for service by the end of 2026. Global submarine cable leader Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) has been selected to build and install the submarine cable and equipment required for this project.
“Far North Fiber will be the first multicontinental cable system through the Arctic. It provides a backbone that offers enhanced opportunities for economic development, international security, and a greener footprint for the buildout of global digital infrastructure,” says Ari-Jussi Knaapila, CEO of Cinia.
Koji Kabumoto, Representative Director, President & CEO of ARTERIA, commented: " The FNF is to build a network that directly connects Europe and Asia with low latency through the Northwest Passage, and Japan will serve as the gateway to Asia. It is our pleasure to be involved in this journey, as the project is expected to contribute the development of digital societies in Japan and Asia in a wide range of fields, including industry, academia, and culture."
Guy Houser, FND’s Chief Operating Officer, expressed appreciation: “Far North Fiber represents a unique partnership, which is going to improve Arctic infrastructure, lead to greater scientific understanding of the environment along the route, and build closer relationships for the connected regions and communities.”
Contacts:
FND
Ethan Berkowitz
Email: eberkowitz@fn-digital.com
ARTERIA – FNF project team, ARTERIA Networks Corporation
Email: FNF-project-ml@arteria-net.com
Cinia
Cinia Communications
Email: communications@cinia.fi
Far North Digital, LLC, an Alaskan limited liability company, has worked on the Far North project for several years. FND and its affiliate, True North Global Networks, a Canadian Limited Partnership, are focused on development of the Far North Fiber backbone project and the extension of fiber-based telecom services into Northern communities. http://fn-digital.com
ARTERIA Networks Corporation, a Japanese company and a subsidiary of Marubeni Corporation, provides corporate services over its own high-capacity fiber backbone and leased circuits network. Its condominium internet service has the No. 1※１ market share in Japan.
https://www.arteria-net.com/en/
※1 MM Research Institute, whole-building type ISP for condominiums in Japan (March 2022)
Cinia, a Finnish company, provides secure high-availability data network and software solutions offering communications solutions to the Nordics, Central Europe and to markets in Asia and Eastern Europe. Cinia owns and operates a ~15 000-kilometer submarine fiber optic network. www.cinia.fi/en/company
Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) is the principal supplier for the Far North Fiber project. ASN
has over 160 years’ experience in developing, designing, and manufacturing submarine cable systems, with more than 650,000 km of optical submarine systems deployed worldwide. It is the most experienced supplier of Arctic submarine cable installations. ASN provides all elements of turnkey global undersea transmission systems, along with marine and maintenance operations performed by its wholly owned fleet of cable ships. https://web.asn.com/en/