A new fibre-optic cable will link Estonia, Sweden and Finland
Wednesday 21st October 2026 on 11:01 in
Estonia
A Swedish company is preparing to build a new fibre-optic communications cable linking Sweden, Estonia and Finland, with the connection scheduled to enter service in 2027, ERR reports. Seabed surveys ahead of the project are due to begin near Saaremaa.
The cable is planned to run from Gotland in Sweden to Saaremaa, then via Hiiumaa to mainland Estonia. It will continue across Estonia to Harju County before crossing the seabed to Helsinki. The Estonian land route will run from Haapsalu to Viimsi.
GlobalConnect AB, a communications company registered in Sweden, is developing the project and will own the infrastructure. Estonia’s Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs says the project includes both undersea and land-based fibre-optic cables. The land route in Estonia is expected to be 250 kilometres long, with another 300 kilometres of sea links to Sweden, Finland and Estonia’s larger islands.
The seabed surveys will identify a suitable route and other factors relevant to planning the cable. Estonia’s Climate Ministry has issued GlobalConnect permits for the surveys, valid until the end of 2026. The Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority is processing applications for the construction and building permits for the undersea cable.
Preparations began in 2025, and cable installation is planned for 2026 and 2027. The project is expected to cost about 40 million euros, including 15.7 million euros in support from the European Union’s Connecting Europe Facility digital programme. Estonia will not contribute financially, but has supported the application for EU funding and will assist with cooperation needed to carry out the project.
Estonia currently has two communications links with Sweden and six with Finland. The ministry says a physically separate route would help maintain international data connections if existing cables were damaged. The new link is also expected to increase data capacity in the Baltic Sea region as demand grows. The ministry did not comment on whether the project would include backup connections for use if a main link fails.
In recent years, cables and pipelines in the Baltic Sea have repeatedly been damaged by ships. In the past year, ships linked to Russia have damaged a gas pipeline and an electricity connection between Estonia and Finland, as well as international communications cables.