513 km · 5 Landing Points · 2 Countries · Ready for Service: 1998
| Length | 513 km |
|---|---|
| Status | In Service |
| Ready for Service | 1998 |
| Landing Points | 5 |
| Countries | 2 |
| Location |
|---|
| Hanko, Finland |
| Haradsholm, Finland |
| Helsinki, Finland |
| Mariehamn, Finland |
| Stavsnas, Sweden |
Monitored from 2026-04-12 through 2026-05-24 — live ICMP round-trip time measurements via RIPE Atlas probes. All values below are recomputed daily from raw probe data. ✓ No anomalies detected in the monitored period.
| Probe | Location | Samples | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| #40 | RIPE Atlas | 63 | 53.2 ms |
| #911 | RIPE Atlas | 6 | 75.8 ms |
| #1014473 own probe | Minsk BY | 2 | 51.3 ms |
| #1014589 own probe | Almaty KZ | 2 | 76.2 ms |
| #1014597 own probe | Tbilisi GE | 2 | 73.7 ms |
| #1014969 own probe | Jerusalem IL | 2 | 81.6 ms |
| #1015313 own probe | Sevastopol UA | 2 | 49.4 ms |
BCS North - Phase 1 is a regional submarine cable system spanning 513 km across the Baltic Sea, connecting Finland and Sweden. It serves the corridor between these two Nordic countries, providing direct undersea connectivity across waters shared by their respective coastlines.
In Finland, the cable reaches land at four points: Hanko, Haradsholm, Helsinki, and Mariehamn. These landings distribute connectivity across Finland's southern and southwestern coastal geography, including the Åland archipelago at Mariehamn.
In Sweden, the cable has a single landing point at Stavsnas, located on the Stockholm archipelago's eastern shore.
BCS North - Phase 1 is owned by Arelion, a wholesale network operator providing international carrier services across Europe and beyond.
The cable entered service in 1998 and has been operational for 28 years. It stands as one of the earlier submarine links established in this Finland–Sweden corridor, predating several other systems that have since been deployed in the same region.
Finland hosts 12 submarine cables across 11 landing points, while Sweden is served by 17 cables across 20 landing points, reflecting the well-developed undersea infrastructure of both Nordic nations. At 513 km, BCS North - Phase 1 is longer than 77% of the other cables touching the same countries, placing it among the more substantial systems in this corridor by length.
Among its regional peers, BCS North - Phase 1 predates systems such as STO-HEL-One (RFS 2008), C-Lion1 (RFS 2016), Aurora (RFS 2024), Mjolner East (planned RFS 2027), and N0r5ke Viking 2 (planned RFS 2028), making it one of the longest-serving cables in active operation across this stretch of the Baltic. Sweden-Latvia (RFS 2005) is one of the few peers with an RFS closer to its own.
Measured performance over the past 60 days across 91 ping tests shows an average round-trip latency of 49.3 ms, with a best recorded result of 7.0 ms.
With four landings in Finland — including the capital Helsinki and the strategically positioned Åland Islands — and a landing at Stavsnas in Sweden, BCS North - Phase 1 provides geographically distributed connectivity between the two countries. The spread of Finnish landing points across different coastal locations reduces dependence on any single entry site and broadens the cable's reach within Finland's territory.
| Status | ✓ Normal |
|---|---|
| RTT | 79.95 ms / base 74.95 ms |
| Last checked | 2026-05-24 02:30 |
Monitored using RIPE Atlas probes. Open monitoring →
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