Arctic subsea communication cables and the regional development of northern peripheries

• Published in: Arctic and North
• Main Author: Juha Saunavaara
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; Russian
• Published: Northern Arctic Federal University 2018
• Subjects: Arctic; subsea data cable; connectivity; regional development; Hokkaido; northern Finland; Social Sciences; H; Arctic Ocean; Northern Finland
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.17238/issn2221-2698.2018.32.63; https://doaj.org/article/315043adbceb4692bc02006cff819612

Some years ago, the Arctic Ocean was still described as one of the last oceans that did not have subsea communications cables across it. This situation is now changing. One of the greatest increases in global data transfer is predicted to be traffic between Asia and Europe, and the Arctic Ocean offers a shortcut, making physical cable connections shorter and decreasing latency. Recent developments regarding two ongoing subsea communications cable projects (Quintillion and Arctic Connect), which aim to connect East Asia and Europe, are discussed, and the connection between these projects and regional development policies in Hokkaido and northern Finland are analysed. It is shown that the proposition that improved international connectivity through subsea communications cables could bring information-intensive industries into the region had been stronger in Finland. This is largely due to a lack of information and awareness concerning these projects among the regional actors in Hokkaido; however, no concrete policy or funding instrument has been developed in either of the case regions.