Four new subsea cables will strengthen Baltic Sea digital infrastructure

GlobalConnect have initiated a project to establish four new subsea cable systems in the Baltic Sea. The new cables will connect Sweden, Estonia and Finland effectively creating a ~550 km long-haul route, adding new routes for long-haul capacity offerings.

New subsea cables (~300km) will be constructed between Gotland, Sweden to the Estonian islands, Saaremaa, and Hiiumaa, before extending inland through Estonia, via Tallinn and across the Gulf of Finland to Helsinki. In addition, GlobalConnect will deploy several hundred kilometers of terrestrial fiber routes in Estonia.

In July, GlobalConnect announced an additional project, establishing a 500 km fiber route (150 km sea cable) between Gävle, Stockholm and Helsinki, which will be completed in 2026. With all routes combined, GlobalConnect will offer a 1250 km digital ring in the Baltic Sea.

”We aim to deliver digital infrastructure, futureproofing the Nordics. This requires continuous expansion to keep pace with demand. We’re seeing a rapid increase in the need for secure, high-capacity fiber infrastructure—driven by the fast growth of major data centers and AI hotspots across the region. The route between Sweden and Estonia is underserved, with existing infrastructure being 30 years old. This new option will allow more traffic to flow, create resilience and offer lower latency,” says Pär Jansson, SVP GlobalConnect Carrier.

The total cost of the new cables is ~40 million Euros, of which 15 million Euros has been granted GlobalConnect from the CEF2-project (Connecting Europe Facility). The project is ongoing, securing necessary permits and prerequisites from authorities.

Strong support from Swedish and Estonian states
“This vital project will add significant redundancy in the cross-border connectivity between our nations, the Baltic states and digital hubs in Central Europe, as well as improving the digital resilience in the region”, says Liisa-Ly Pakosta, Estonian Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs.

"Sweden has received a financial jackpot for strengthening our digital infrastructure with the help of EU funds. Several initiatives, particularly important regarding the worsened security situation, can now be implemented with full force. The project will contribute to a strong and well-developed digital infrastructure. This is crucial for Sweden's competitiveness, innovation development and access to digital services," says Erik Slottner, Minister for public administration with responsibility for digitalisation”, in a press release from the Swedish Government.

Several ongoing projects in the region
The project is part of GlobalConnect’s wider ambition to expand the Nordic network with 3,000 km of new fiber in the coming years. In H1 2024, the company also finished the construction of the largest digital infrastructure project in the Nordics for the last decade, a massive fiber cable capable of transporting all data in and out of the region. This is also one of several GlobalConnect digital infrastructure project to be co-funded by the European Union: European Union to co-fund latest GlobalConnect digitalization project in Northern Scandinavia | GlobalConnect Group.

Project by the numbers

• Total numbers: ~550km
• New subsea cables: ~300 km
• New terrestrial routes in Estonia: ~250 km
• Fiber cable: the new sea cable will support data traffic between Northern Europe and Sweden, Finland and Estonia. The new infrastructure route will increase GlobalConnect's capacity with 400%.
• Network routes:
• Gotland > Saaremaa (sea cable)
• Saaremaa > Hiiumaa (sea cable)
• Hiiumaa > Tallin (sea cable & terrestrial route)
• Tallin > Helsinki (sea cable)

Project timeline

2025

• Permit process - land and marine surveys (Ongoing)
• Land-based construction start

2026

• Marine surveys
• Land-based construction
• Repeater site construction
• Sea cable laying

2027

• Sea cable laying continuation
• Go-live