Greenland telco Tusass has begun the marine survey for a second domestic subsea cable.
The company said this week the seabed survey – being carried out by the company Geoteam aboard the ship R/V Explora – has begun.
The survey is estimated to take about four months, concluding by the end of November 2023. Afterward, data will be analyzed to develop a final construction project.
In December 2022, Tusass received funding support from the EU for a seabed survey along the coastline from Qaqortoq to Ilulissat.
The goal is to lay a redundant cable connecting Qaqortoq, Nuuk, and Aasiaat, and also to investigate the possibility of a route to Ilulissat on the northwestern coast.
Greenland currently has two subsea cables, known as Greenland Connect, which links the Danish territory with Canada and Iceland, and an extension known as Greenland Connect North. Tusass owns both.
The first cable was laid in 2009, with the domestic extension added in 2017. Greenland Connect lands in Nuuk and Qaqortoq in Greenland, while the Greenland Connect North segment lands at Aasiaat, Maniitsoq, Nuuk, and Sisimiut.
Tusass upgrades ground stations for new satellite
Tusass also recently announced it is upgrading ground station infrastructure at sites in Ittoqqortoormiit and Tasiilaq to support the new GreenSAT GEO satellite that launched in February 2023.
The upgrade of the two ground stations will commence at the start of August, beginning with Ittoqqortoormiit, taking around 8-11 days.
GreenSat is Tusass’ name for its capacity on Hispasat’s Amazonas Nexus satellite. The 4.5-ton Thales Alenia Space-made machine – ordered to replace Hispasat’s Amazonas 2 satellite – offers Ku and Ka-band connectivity to the Americas.
The two ground station sites were built in 2020 and 2021. The company has a third site in Qaanaaq. The company previously used Intelsat 903 and then Intelsat 35e for connectivity in remote regions.
TELE Greenland A/S was created in 1997 through the merging of TELE Greenland and Kalaallit Allakkeriviat (Greenland Postal Service). The company was rebranded to Tusass in 2021.
The company, which is soon switching off its 3G services, has previously signed a satellite connectivity distribution deal with satellite firm OneWeb.
