Polar Connect, the first submarine cable to cross the Arctic thanks to the European Union support?

For over 25 years, plans for submarine fibre optic cable projects to connect Europe and Asia across the Arctic Ocean have been announced. However, these projects have not been realised due to a lack of interest from either private or public investors. In a rapidly changing international context, marked by a realignment of power relations and the return of war to Europe since February 2022, as well as the quest for digital sovereignty, stakeholders are mobilising and are now prepared to pay the cost of such submarine fibre optic cable projects. These have become essential for securing data routes and, consequently, for digital sovereignty. The European Union has implemented a strategy to finance its digital infrastructure, leading it to fund several cable projects in the Arctic. These projects include the Far North Fiber trans-Arctic cable and, most notably, the transpolar Polar Connect project, which is planned to pass near the North Pole. These cables represent a substantial investment, with announced budgets of €1.2 billion and €1.5 billion, respectively. For the first time in 25 years, the public sector is fully supporting private and public initiatives in transarctic submarine cable projects. They are not only considering return on investment in financial terms, but also strengthening their digital sovereignty, improving network redundancy, and fostering scientific research and cooperation in the Arctic. The European Union’s involvement in the Polar Connect project could be a real game changer, potentially leading to the first transpolar submarine cable project connecting Europe to Asia via the Arctic.