MegaFon and Rosgeo completed the first stage of sea researches on the Arctic Connect project

2020

End of the first stage of sea researches on the project of creation underwater the fiber-optic communication line from Europe to Asia

MegaFon announced on November 5, 2020 TAdviser that together with JSC Rosgeo completed the first stage of sea researches within the project of laying of the underwater communication line from Europe to Asia. The Professor Logachev research vessel arrived in Vladivostok after completion of an expedition.

MegaFon and Rosgeo completed the first stage of sea researches on the Arctic Connect project. Photo source: fleetphoto.ru

In a work progress the most difficult sections of the route in terms of an ice situation in the water area of the Northern Sea Route with a total length of 6500 km were investigated. The complex of researches included profile observations by the remote geophysical methods which are not causing damage of ecology: measurement of depths of water multibeam sonic depth finder, vulgar sonar shooting of a bottom and studying of the structure of upper thickness of ground rainfall with the acoustic profilograph. Works were carried out on sections from 30 to 613 meters in depth.

In 105 days of the expedition starting at the end of July in St. Petersburg, Professor Logachev overcame about 16,000 km, having executed shooting of a bottom on sections of the route of PVOLS in the water area of six seas – Barents, Karsky, Laptev, East Siberian, Chukchi and Beringova. In difficult conditions of the Arctic harmonious work and professionalism of a project team allowed to overcome all difficulties and to complete the works with significant advancing of terms, noted the CEO – the Chairman of the board of JSC Rosgeo Sergey Gorkov.

Execution of works was promoted by a favorable ice situation in the Arctic Ocean, it allowed the vessel to conduct researches in high latitudes without icebreaking support.

The first stage of works is completed. The data collected during the expedition will be processed by specialists of Rosgeo during the winter-spring of 2020-2021. In 2021 we will carry out the second stage of researches including a research of breeds of a bottom on a route. The received results will allow us to select an optimal route of cable laying along the Arctic zone of Russia and also to define sites of branches on the coast, noted the CEO of Megafon Gevork Vermishyan.

Start of Arctic Connect with capacity 200 Tbit / with will help to cope with the growing volumes of global traffic. The branches constructed from a base line will allow to provide a high-quality communication to consumers of the Arctic and the Far East, including the enterprises of fuel and energy complex. It will contribute to the social and economic development of the region.

The beginning of sea researches on the project of creation underwater the fiber-optic communication line from Europe to Asia

MegaFon and Rosgeo start sea researches within the Arctic Connect project. This TAdviser became known on July 17, 2020.

The companies signed the agreement on carrying out joint sea surveys within project implementation on laying of an underwater fiber line of communication from Europe to Asia. The expedition will begin on August 5, 2020 in Murmansk and three months will last.

MegaFon and Rosgeo begin sea researches on the project of creation underwater the fiber-optic communication line from Europe to Asia

The research vessel of Rosgeo Professor Logachev will pass the most difficult sections of the route in terms of an ice situation in Barents, Karsky, Laptev, the East Siberian and Chukchi seas. Total length of the section investigated in 2020 will be 6500 km.

"We begin an expedition in a year, favorable in terms of an ice situation. In 2020 we will conduct a preliminary research of a relief of a bottom and we will define safe route alignments in the Arctic seas. The second part of researches will take place in 2021 and will include detailed studying of engineering conditions of laying of the submarine cable, including a research of breeds of a bottom. Similar works are planned on communication line segments outside the Russian waters. Sea researches will become the first stage of project implementation, they are necessary for determination of an optimal route of laying of the communication line along the Arctic zone of Russia and the choice of sites of branches on the coastal territory, – the CEO of Megafon Gevork Vermishyan says.

We are glad that competences of Rosgeo having experience of carrying out sea geological exploration and engineering researches in the Arctic and in the Far East will be demanded when implementing the communication project. The company operates with the fleet of the research vessels equipped with the necessary equipment, including multifunction submersibles of own development which proved the efficiency at a research of a bottom of the World Ocean, – the CEO - the chairman of the board of Rosgeo Sergey Gorkov noted.

The Arctic Connect project will connect a communication fiber line continents on which 85% of the world population live. It will provide to users short transmission time of a signal with the minimum level of a delay. The branches constructed from a base line will allow to provide with communication consumers of the Arctic and the Far East, including the enterprise of fuel and energy complex that will contribute to the social and economic development of the region. Start of the communication line with capacity 200 Tbit / with will help to cope with the growing volumes of global traffic.

2019: MegaFon will stretch a fiber optic cable from Helsinki in Tokyo

On June 6, 2019 MegaFon announced construction of an underwater high-speed optical line between Tokyo and Helsinki. For project implementation the Russian telecommunication company signed with the Finnish infrastructure operator Cinia Group the agreement on creation of the international consortium which, in addition to MegaFon, included "the Japanese and Scandinavian companies and also international financial institutions". The agreement was signed at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

As reported in the press release of MegaFon which came to edition TAdviser it is about laying of the first transarctic fiber optic cable. It will pass on a bottom of the Arctic Ocean and will have the extent of 10 thousand km.

MegaFon and Cinia will create the international consortium for construction of the oceanic fiber optic Helsinki-Tokyo line

The role of MegaFon in this project consists in the help with obtaining allowing documentation in Russia. The operator will get also access to the communication line. According to the CEO of the company Gevork Vermishyan, construction of an underwater high-speed optical line between Tokyo and Helsinki will cost approximately in the amount from $800 million to $1.2 billion. It will be possible to speak about exact expenses after carrying out researches, he noted.

Cinia already has an experience of implementation of similar telecommunication projects. In 2015-2016 the company laid the submarine cable between Finland and Germany.

By June, 2019 more than 95% of world volume of data transmission fall to the share of the international underwater cable networks. The expected growth of transit of the international IP traffic between the Asian and European continent in the next five years will exceed 200% thanks to coherence of data centers worldwide, data transmission in networks of the next generations, development of Internet of Things and digitalization of the industrial Internet, predict in MegaFon.