E-FINEST

Overview

E-FINEST is a short submarine cable system connecting Estonia and Finland across the Gulf of Finland. It is owned and operated by Elisa Corporation, a Finnish telecommunications company, and entered service in 2019. The cable links Tallinn, Estonia with Espoo, Finland, serving the bilateral corridor between these two neighboring Baltic Sea nations.

Route and Landings

In Estonia, E-FINEST lands at Tallinn, the country's capital on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland.

In Finland, the cable comes ashore at Espoo, a city on the southern Finnish coastline situated immediately west of Helsinki.

Ownership and Operators

E-FINEST is wholly owned by Elisa Corporation. Elisa is a Finnish telecommunications and digital services company with operations across Finland and Estonia, making it a natural operator for a direct cable linking the two countries.

Status and Timeline

E-FINEST became ready for service in 2019 and has been operational for approximately seven years. It currently connects Tallinn and Espoo as an active submarine cable system.

Regional Context

The Gulf of Finland corridor between Estonia and Finland is served by several submarine cable systems. E-FINEST sits alongside established cables such as BCS North – Phase 1 (RFS 1998), BCS North – Phase 2 (RFS 2000), STO-HEL-One (RFS 2008), and C-Lion1 (RFS 2016). Two additional cables, Mjolner East and Mjolner West, are planned for service in 2027, indicating continued investment in this corridor. Estonia hosts five submarine cables across four landing points, while Finland is served by twelve cables across eleven landing points, reflecting the relatively high cable density in this compact regional sea passage.

Performance measurements over the last 60 days, based on 70 ping tests conducted through E-FINEST, show an average round-trip latency of 15.2 ms, with a best recorded result of 9.2 ms. These figures are consistent with the short geographic distance between Tallinn and Espoo across the Gulf of Finland.

Strategic Role

E-FINEST provides a direct submarine connection between Estonia and Finland, supporting telecommunications traffic between the two countries. By landing at Espoo and Tallinn — urban centers with significant connectivity infrastructure — the cable contributes to the overall resilience and capacity of the Estonia–Finland corridor without relying on shared infrastructure with other systems. Its operation under a single owner, Elisa Corporation, reflects an integrated approach to cross-border telecommunications between the two nations.