Telia Carrier said it has been selected in a tender process by Norwegian communications regulator Nkom to establish a new, secure route for electronic communications between Norway and other countries. Currently, most traffic from Norway follows two paths through Sweden. In case of disruption or a worst-case scenario where all connections through Sweden are lost, Nkom wants to expand the network infrastructure with a new route.
Elise K Lindeberg, director of the security department at Nkom, said the agreement will facilitate increased geographical distribution of traffic between Norway and other countries and ensure that Norway's national needs are taken care of should serious incidents affect existing international traffic to Sweden. Lindeberg said the deal is worth approximately NOK 29 million.
The new route will run from Oslo via Kristiansand to Esbjerg in Denmark, where it will connect to the wider Telia Carrier pan-European network. There will be two new Points of Presence (PoPs), at the Oslo Internet Exchange (OS-IX) and the hyperscale N01 Campus in Kristiansand, both owned by Bulk Infrastructure. Bulk is already well advanced in the planning of the 'Havsil' subsea cable between Kristiansand and northern Denmark and aims to have the system ready for service by the end of 2021.
Peder Naerbo, founder and chairman of Bulk Infrastructure, said the Havsil cable will be the shortest route connecting Norway to continental Europe, and it improves diversity by avoiding the traditional fibre routes.
