The cable link, scheduled to be completed in 2026, will cross Russia’s long north coast for 12,650 kilometers (7,860 miles) from the village of Teriberka to the easternmost port of Vladivostok.

August 10, 2021

The laying work of the first submarine fibre optic communication cable in Russia through the Arctic Circle has started as part of a state-run project to bring high-speed internet to the northern hydrocarbon-rich remote areas. Moscow aims to expand its military presence and improve patch communications and infrastructure in the Far North, which is developing its main route, the North Sea route.

The cable link, scheduled to be completed in 2026, will cross Russia’s long north coast for 12,650 kilometers (7,860 miles) from the village of Teriberka in the Barents Sea to the easternmost port of Vladivostok.

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Alexei Strelchenko, head of cable manufacturing and laying company, said it would cost 65 billion rubles (~USD 883 million) and the country would raise funds exclusively. Cables are manufactured in the Arctic city of Murmansk using Chinese fibre optics and Russian components, according to Strelchenko.

Andrey Kuropyatnikov, CEO of Morsviazsputnik, said the project will require additional connectivity cables to link to global communication cable networks that will require foreign investment.

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“It will involve a partnership in terms of co-investment to expand the project to Europe and Asia. This is another commercial project,” he told Reuters. He said he is in talks with companies in Asia, Europe, and the United States.