N0r5ke Viking 2

Overview

N0r5ke Viking 2 is a domestic and cross-border submarine cable system spanning approximately 900 km along the Norwegian and Swedish coasts. The cable connects five landing points in Norway with two landing points in Sweden, serving the Scandinavian corridor between the two countries. It is operated by NOR5KE Fibre AS and is planned to enter service in 2028.

Route and Landings

In Norway, the cable lands at five locations: Bergen, Kristiansand, Oslo, Porsgrunn, and Stavanger. These landings span a substantial portion of Norway's coastline, from western to southern regions.

In Sweden, the cable reaches two landing points: Capri Strand and Lagunen. These Swedish landings extend the system's reach across the border, linking Norwegian infrastructure to points along the Swedish coast.

Ownership and Operators

N0r5ke Viking 2 is wholly owned by NOR5KE Fibre AS, a Norwegian fibre infrastructure company. As sole owner, NOR5KE Fibre AS is responsible for the cable's development and operation.

Status and Timeline

N0r5ke Viking 2 is a planned cable system with a Ready for Service date of 2028. Construction and deployment are expected to be completed ahead of that year, at which point the system will become operational across its seven landing points in Norway and Sweden.

Regional Context

The Norwegian coastal and Scandinavian submarine cable corridor includes a range of systems of varying scale and vintage. The longest nearby system is Havfrue/AEC-2, which extends 7,650 km and entered service in 2020. Shorter regional systems include the Svalbard Undersea Cable System (2,714 km, RFS 2004), Arctic Way (2,568 km, also planned for 2028), Polar Circle Cable (1,004 km, RFS 2007), STO-HEL-One (560 km, RFS 2008), and N0r5ke Viking (810 km, RFS 2022), the predecessor system also operated by NOR5KE Fibre AS. At 900 km, N0r5ke Viking 2 sits between the Polar Circle Cable and its predecessor in terms of length, and it adds a cross-border Sweden dimension that the original N0r5ke Viking does not share.

Strategic Role

With seven landing points distributed across Norway and Sweden, N0r5ke Viking 2 provides diverse coastal connectivity within Scandinavia. The five Norwegian landings cover geographically spread cities including Bergen, Stavanger, Porsgrunn, Kristiansand, and Oslo, while the two Swedish landings at Capri Strand and Lagunen extend the network across the border. This distribution supports redundant connectivity paths along the Norwegian coastline and establishes a direct subsea link between the Norwegian and Swedish landing communities served by the cable.