Nexans Starts Building Norfest Subsea Fiber Cable Linking Norway and Sweden

Subsea cable making and installation company Nexans said Wednesday it had started manufacturing Norfest, Tampnet’s new subsea fiber cable, linking Norway and Sweden. 

Tampnet is a provider of high capacity and latency-critical connectivity between the Nordics and Europe. Nexans is partnering with both Tampnet and Cecon Contracting to build the subsea fiber-optic cable system. 

"The new build enables connectivity within the Nordics and on to the rest of Europe, continuously supporting rapid data center growth throughout the region," Nexans said.

The Norfest cable will be a fully buried, 749 km system with 9 landings for interconnection to carriers, other subsea cables, and data center facilities, expanding and strengthening network access along the route.

The first portion of the offshore route survey was completed in September, 2022. Nexans has started cable manufacturing of the 48 and 96 fiber-pair cable which will be ready for handover to Cecon Contracting for installation in June 2023.

“Subsea cables are the backbone of connectivity, and we are proud to be a part of Tampnet’s initiative to bring increased resiliency and capacity to the Nordics and Europe through the company’s Norfest subsea cable system,” says Krister Granlie, VP Submarine Telecom & Special Cables in Nexans. 

"This build and installation of a completely diverse subsea cable is necessary to empower data center operators throughout both regions and beyond.” 

“Cecon Contracting AS is pleased to apply our specialist cable lay capabilities to be part of Tampnet’s project, which will add significant subsea fiber optic cable capacity linking data centers in Norway and Sweden," says Jo Braadlie, MD in Cecon. 

"Cecon Contracting is looking forward to completing this major project together with our friends at Tampnet and make the project a great success for all parties involved.” “

"At Tampnet, we have always had our customers' requirements at the top of our priorities. We’ve been investing in our network and this region for over 21 years, and this investment secures the next 21 years with reliable, scalable, and completely diverse fiber between key locations in Norway and Sweden,” says Elie Hanna, CEO of Tampnet. “The Tampnet team is proud to add Norfest to our existing footprint. With this route, we stay ahead of future bandwidth demands and improve the communications network of the region.”