Eastern Arctic Undersea Fiber Optic Networkย Project Win
Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN), part ofย Nokia, will build theย Eastern Arctic Undersea Fiber Optic Network, aย 1,200 kmย submarine fiber system that bringsย high-speed broadbandย to remote communities inย northern Quรฉbec. The project strengthens ASNโs role inย Arctic digital infrastructure.
Eastern Arctic Undersea Fiber Optic Network scope and goals
Theย Kativik Regional Government (KRG)ย is funding theย Eastern Arctic Undersea Fiber Optic Networkย to connectย five northern Quรฉbec communitiesย that currently depend mainly onย satellite links. The goal is to provideย reliable, affordable, and secure high-speed Internetย so residents, businesses, and public services gain better access to modern digital tools.
The system usesย two fiber pairs, and each fiber pair will provide at leastย 10 Tbpsย of capacity. In addition, the design allowsย future extensions, enabling KRG to link more communities inย northern Canadaย as demand forย bandwidthย grows.
Technology and system design
ASN plans to integrate its latestย subsea optical technologiesย into the network. The design includesย high-bandwidth repeatersย to maintain signal quality over long distances,ย OADM branching unitsย for flexible routing,ย SoftNode Submarine Line Terminal Equipment (SLTE), andย modular, duplicated Power Feed Equipment (PFE)ย that improvesย resilienceย andย service continuity.
Together, these technologies boostย capacity, enhanceย reliability, and simplifyย future upgradesย along the Arctic subsea route. They also support long-termย scalabilityย as regional traffic increases.
Arctic deployment experience and execution
Alain Biston, President ofย ASN, notes thatย KRGย chose ASN partly for its successfulย track recordย with advanced coherent submarine cable systems inย remote and harsh Arctic environments. He explains that this experience will help ASN handle theย technicalย andย environmental challengesย of the project.
ASN will manufacture theย submarine fiber cable systemย at its facilities inย Franceย and theย U.K., then deploy it using aย purpose-built subsea cable ship. The team must adapt toย severe weatherย and comply with strictย regulatory, logistical, scheduling, and operational constraintsย for marine work inย Hudson Bay, drawing on lessons fromย four earlier Arctic projects.
Regional impact and ASNโs global footprint
Project partners plan to commission theย Eastern Arctic Undersea Fiber Optic Networkย by theย end of 2021. Theย Kativik Regional Governmentย covers most ofย Nunavik, which forms theย northern halfย of theย NordโduโQuรฉbecย region and includes all territoryย above the 55th parallel, an area of aboutย 500,164 square kilometers. The new network will play a critical role in linking this vast region to globalย digital infrastructure.
Alcatel Submarine Networksย notes that it has installed more thanย 650,000 km of optical submarine systemsย worldwideโenough toย circumnavigate the globe about 15 timesโhighlighting its position as a leading globalย subsea connectivityย provider.
