Press release: Embargoed until January 19, 2021, 4:00pm EET (Eastern European time) Arctic Gateway for Research & Education The research and education (R&E) networks of the Nordic countries are preparing for participating in the upcoming Arctic Connect Submarine Cable (ACSC) project. This will open a new, fast and short route connecting Europe and Asia in the global R&E community. Numerous bottlenecks exist in the present global digital infrastructure. Thus, it is great news for users in the research and education communities of the Nordic countries that an entirely new high-capacity route is currently under development by a true international Arctic Connect project company. The Arctic Connect Submarine Cable System will interconnect Kirkenes, Norway and Tokyo, Japan, through the Arctic Ocean and Northern Pacific Ocean, including options for additional landings in Japan and in North America. The two leading partners are the Cinia Alliance, headed by Cinia Oy from Finland, and Russian partner MegaFon. The projected time frame for completion is 2023/2024. NORDUnet, on behalf of the five national research and education networks in the Nordic countries, have signed a Letter of Intent with Cinia, expressing interest in a dedicated fiber pair on ACSC for research and education. The Letter of Intent with NORDUnet for a dedicated fiber pair in the Arctic Connect Submarine Cable System was announced at the virtual global telecom conference PTC’21. “We are pleased to welcome the international research and education community, headed by NORDUnet, to leverage the benefits obtainable from the unique Arctic Connect opportunity. As an engine customer with a highly positive boost to the Arctic Connect project, the R&E networks are signaling the importance of global digital infrastructure enabling new routes, additional capacity and increased diversity” says Mr. Ari-Jussi Knaapila, the CEO of Cinia Oy. Arctic Connect is an international project including key stakeholders from Finland, Norway, Japan and Russia. The system will have its European cable landing stations in Northern Norway and Finland, with connections further southwards through Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark extending to the rest of Europe. “The Nordics are in a unique position to pioneer a fiber pair for Nordic and European Research and Education, on a completely new route. This project, once realized, will enhance the collaboration landscape between R&E partners in The Nordics, Europe, and Japan. In addition, it will boost Nordic development and significantly enhance European digital sovereignty,” says NORDUnet CEO René Buch. As an option, NORDUnet are also working with R&E Networks in Canada and the USA for exploring a possible break-out of ACSC towards the West Coast of North America, which would enable a short and fast path for R&E Collaboration between the western part of North America and Europe and Asia. Arctic Connect R&E will be among the first intercontinental fiber pairs in history owned and managed by the research and education communities. The ownership will contribute to securing connectivity in an age where the ability to transmit large data sets and conduct distance learning and conferencing is absolutely imperative. On top of that, users in the Nordic countries will experience further benefits in terms of lower cost, access to larger bandwidths, improved latencies and increased resilience. About Cinia Cinia provides secure high-availability data network and software solutions. Our operations are based on our solid expertise in modern software development, data network technologies and critical operating environments. Our fibre optic network of roughly 15,000 kilometres, including the C-Lion1 submarine cable, enables the fastest data communications solutions to Central Europe and to markets in Asia and Eastern Europe. By combining our services with services of our partners, we can provide reliable and comprehensive solutions that help our customers write their own digital success stories. More information: https://cinia.fi/en About NORDUnet NORDUnet is a collaboration between the National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) of the five Nordic countries, i.e., Sweden (SUNET), Norway (Uninett), Denmark (DeiC), Finland (Funet), and Iceland (RHnet). We operate a world-class data network, based on dark fiber and spectrum sharing, and e-infrastructure services, such as media services for videoconferencing, lecture capturing and playback, and streaming support. More than 400 research & education institutions in the Nordics, with over 1.2 million users, are connected via the Nordic NREN networks, enabling scientists, educators, and students to work and share knowledge globally. NORDUnet is an active participant in the European NREN collaboration GÉANT and is a founding father of intercontinental NREN collaborations such as the Advanced North Atlantic (ANA) and AsiaPacific Europe Ring (AER) systems that are part of the Global Research and Education Network (GREN). Recently, NORDUnet celebrated 40 years of Nordic NREN collaboration. More information: https://www.nordu.net/.