GlobalConnect is developing a subsea cable connecting Sweden and Denmark.

The company has begun construction on a new subsea cable across the Kattegat, the strait connecting the two countries.

Set to go live in 2027, the 92km Kattegat cable between Lerkil outside Gothenburg in Sweden and Saeby in Northern Denmark will reportedly have the capacity to transport all data currently being produced in the Nordics via its 288 fiber strands.

Two new ILA (Inline Amplifier) stations will be built as part of the project.

GlobalConnect said the project is an investment of €11.9 million ($14m), of which €5.9 million ($7m) is supported by the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility (CEF2).

“Several sea cables already connect Sweden and Denmark, but most are over 20 years old and close to run out of capacity,” says Pär Jansson, SVP, GlobalConnect Carrier.

“As data traffic between the Nordics and continental Europe continues to grow, more cables are needed to create redundancy, strengthen security and support the region’s long-term growth.”

The new cable is part of GlobalConnect’s 'Bifrost' program, a multi-year initiative to expand and modernize the company’s Nordic fiber network with more than 3,000km of new cables.

The company is developing several new systems connecting Sweden, Finland, and Estonia.

GlobalConnect 2 (GC2), dating back to 2001, currently connects Saeby to Kungsbacka, a town south of Gothenburg, Sweden. Several other cables in the Kattegat sea link Sweden and Denmark via the Danish island of Læsø.

Founded in 1998, GlobalConnect operates a 244,000km (151,614 miles) fiber network across Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany, and Finland. It says it currently operates around 17 data centers in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Germany with a total area of ​​35,000 square meters (376,735 sq ft).

EQT Infrastructure has been GlobalConnect’s majority shareholder since 2016, with Mubadala joining as a minority investor in 2022. EQT is reportedly looking for a buyer for the company.