Increasing digitisation demands sufficient backbone connections, within and between EU member states, as well as with EU’s strategic partner countries. The Northern EU Gateways project contributes to the European key priorities and strategic objectives with the main goal of improving the backbone connectivity within the EU and strengthening the EU’s links with third countries. 

The Project will develop a vision for the year 2030 for the North Atlantic and Arctic section of the Digital Global Gateway, fostering the Arctic region as the important area of the digital shift for Europe. As part of the implementation actions, Project focuses on the first concrete preparations for three new cable investments: two submarine cables, Far North Fiber (FNF) and C–Lion2, and Terrestrial Backbone Finland (TBF). The Project includes several types of studies for the cable investments. 

The feasibility of Arctic cable route for a subsea cable east of Greenland, delivering as direct route as possible. Furthermore, the project will investigate ways to generate additional value from the Arctic subsea connectivity and will examine sensing cable technologies. For FNF, a cable route study will be conducted to identify the safest and technically most viable route for a subsea cable west of Greenland. For C–Lion2, detailed cable route planning for connectivity between cable landing in Northern Norway and the European continent, marine ground surveys will be carried out.