Arctic data cable linking Europe to Japan secures first investment

A plan to build the first fibre-optic cable across the Arctic has secured its first investment, the consortium behind the 1.1 billion euro ($1.15 billion) scheme said on Friday.
The subsea cable, which the developers say will be the first to be laid on the Arctic seabed, will connect Europe and Japan via North America as part of the global internet infrastructure.
An earlier plan to run the cable along the Russian Arctic coastline, in a venture with Russia’s second-biggest mobile phone operator Megafon, was cancelled last year.
This was due to Russia’s increased reluctance to authorise the cable being laid in its territorial area, Finland’s Cinia, the company leading the Far North Fiber consortium, said.
Far North Fiber is a joint venture between Cinia, U.S.-based Far North Digital and Japan’s Arteria Networks.