This is the Arctic Connect initiative. The new backbone is expected to provide unprecedentedly short transmission times with the lowest latency that no existing line offers. In this case, the throughput will reach 200 Tbit / s.

The fiber optic line will connect the continents, which are home to 85% of the world’s population. The bends built from the main highway will provide communications for consumers in the Arctic and the Far East.

Within the framework of the project, the research vessel of Rosgeology “Professor Logachev” will pass the most difficult sections of the route in terms of ice conditions in the Barents, Kara, Laptev, East Siberian, and Chukchi Seas. The total length of the section understudy in 2020 will be 6,500 km. The second part of the survey will take place in 2021 and will include a detailed study of the engineering conditions for laying an underwater cable, including the study of bottom rocks.

Marine research will be the first stage of the project, it is necessary to determine the optimal route for laying a communication line along the Arctic zone of Russia and the selection of construction sites for branches to the coastal territory.

As the newspaper Vedomosti notes, it will take about three years to lay the line. Investments in the project are estimated at $ 0.8– $ 1.2 billion.