GlobalConnect, a digital infrastructure and data communication provider, has begun laying a new submarine fiber-optic cable across the Kattegat to improve digital connectivity between Sweden and Denmark, and add redundancy to Nordic data routes. It is expected to go live in 2027.
According to a press release, the 92 km cable will run between Lerkil, south of Gothenburg, and Sæby in northern Denmark. It is designed with 288 fiber pairs capacity the company says is sufficient to handle current total Nordic data traffic. The Sweden–Denmark project represents an investment of €11.9 million (US$ 14.6 million), with €5.9 million (US$ 7 million) co-financed by the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility (CEF2) program.
“Several sea cables already connect Sweden and Denmark, but most are over 20 years old and close to run out of capacity,” says Pär Jansson, SVP, GlobalConnect Carrier. “As data traffic between the Nordics and continental Europe continues to grow, more cables are needed to create redundancy, strengthen security and support the region’s long-term growth.”
The cable is part of GlobalConnect’s broader “Bifrost” expansion initiative to upgrade and extend its Nordic fiber network. The link will connect to terrestrial fiber networks in both countries and extend toward Finland and continental Europe, forming part of a roughly 2,600 KM corridor between Helsinki and Hamburg.
The company plans to add more than 3,000 KM of new routes in the coming years. In total, about 442 KM of new submarine cables are currently under construction linking Sweden with Denmark, Finland and Estonia.
Connectivity ecosystem in the Nordics
According to submarinecablemap.com, at present there are 28 subsea cables in the Nordic region, including those crisscrossing the Baltic Sea to connect Sweden’s east coast with Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The chief among them are the Baltic Sea Submarine Cable, Eastern Light Sweden-Finland I & II, BCS East West Interlink and others.
Sweden’s west coast is connected to Denmark by cable systems like Aurora, Danica, Global Connect and Scandinavian Ring. There is also Botnia in the Gulf of Bothnia, as well as cables along the coastal parts of western and southern Norway in the North Sea.
However, several existing submarine cables between Sweden and Denmark are more than two decades old and nearing capacity limits. Data traffic between the Nordic region and continental Europe continues to grow, increasing demand for additional routes to reduce outage risks and strengthen network resilience.
This is where the Global Connect’s Bifrost program aims to be a gamechanger because, even though the latest announcement pertains to one cable between Denmark and Sweden, the wider plan for the Nordic region proposes to connect Gothenburg to Oslo, to Stockholm to Helsinki and Tallinn via a mix of both subsea and terrestrial cables.
In Norse mythology, Bifrost refers to a rainbow bridge connecting the realm of men with that of the gods. This project, when completed, will connect all major Nordic capitals. Global Connect’s Bifrost program aims to support the region’s growing cloud and data center industry and AI infrastructure. The new project is thus a significant step in establishing the Nordic region as a bigger and more attractive digital infrastructure market.