Dublin has welcomed a new subsea telecoms cable connecting Ireland with Iceland after the project was completed on Friday.
The project is part of a broader strategy from Dublin to make Ireland a “Gateway to Europe” regarding these cables by acting as a link between Europe and North America.
The cable directly connects Galway, on Ireland’s west coast, with Thorlakshofn, on Iceland’s south, and will, by extension, connect Ireland to Northern Europe via further subsea links between Iceland and Denmark.
“Today is the first day that a subsea cable has connected to Ireland that is not linked to the UK or North America,” said Ossian Smyth, Minister of State responsible for Communications and Circular Economy.
“This is the start of a strategic move by Ireland to connect directly to Northern and Southern Europe. Ireland is now open for business to further subsea cables.”
Planning is already underway on two similar projects, one of which would link Ireland with Japan via the North-West passage, and another which would connect it with Portugal, in what Environment and Communications Minister Eamon Ryan said could be “the start of new connectivity along the eastern Atlantic.”
The Ireland-Iceland cable, operated by Farice, a company owned by the Icelandic government, is set to improve both international and domestic connectivity, the Irish government said, and to contribute to the increased capacity needed to meet the growing demand from digital and data services.
The cable will provide digital connectivity for Irish businesses, in particular, said Ryan, and is “part of the new industrial revolution – one that combines high quality, digital infrastructure with renewable technology, infrastructure and skills.”
There is also a security angle to the new connection, the government noted, as the addition of extra linkages will lessen the risk of simultaneous disruption.
Bolstering the resilience of submarine cables has become a focus at the EU level in recent months, particularly in the wake of suspected attacks on the Nord Stream pipeline in September.
Last month, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen emphasised the importance of protecting subsea data cables putting forward a five-point plan for strengthening critical infrastructure.
(Molly Killeen | EURACTIV.com)
Source: euractiv.com
