Good practice

Greenland Connect — La Fibre Sous-Marine qui Connecte l'Arctique

Greenland · Nuuk · See the Greenland profile

Un réseau de câbles à fibre optique sous-marins reliant le Groenland à l'Islande et au Canada a réduit d'environ 500 ms la latence internet à Nuuk du jour au lendemain en 2009, puis a été étendu en 2017 à quatre villes supplémentaires de la côte ouest, remplaçant des liaisons satellite coûteuses par du haut débit pour la majorité de la population groenlandaise.

~90 EUR million

Coût du projet

~500 ms

Réduction de la latence à Nuuk (2009)

1.92 to 12.8 Tbps

Mise à niveau de la capacité activée

Greenland Connect — La Fibre Sous-Marine qui Connecte l'Arctique

Details

Maturity: Established
Promoter: TELE Greenland A/S (Tusass)
Period: 2009–present (extended 2017)
Keywords: telecommunications, submarine cable, rural connectivity, digital infrastructure

Context

Jusqu'en 2009, le Groenland dépendait entièrement de liaisons satellitaires coûteuses et à forte latence ; Tele Greenland A/S (aujourd'hui Tusass) a posé le système de câble sous-marin en fibre optique Greenland Connect, financé en partie par un prêt de 20 millions d'euros de la Banque nordique d'investissement, pour un coût total de projet d'environ 90 millions d'euros.

Results

Le câble est entré en service le 23 mars 2009, réduisant la latence à Nuuk d'environ 500 ms ; la capacité activée a depuis été relevée de 1,92 Tbps à 12,8 Tbps, et une extension en 2017 (Greenland Connect North) a apporté le haut débit fibre à quatre autres villes de la côte ouest.

Conclusions

De nombreuses localités plus petites de la côte est et du nord (par exemple Tasiilaq, Ittoqqortoormiit, Qaanaaq) dépendent encore d'une connexion satellitaire, un écart que Tusass a depuis commencé à combler via un partenariat satellite en orbite basse (LEO) conclu en 2025.

Implementation

Implementation detail (cost, timeline, staffing, conditions for success) is not yet available for this practice.

Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

C-NAPSE web research — accessed 2026-07-15
TELE Greenland A/S (Tusass) — accessed 2026-07-15
Greenland Connect — Wikipedia — accessed 2026-07-15
Greenland calling! — Nordic Investment Bank — accessed 2026-07-15
Greenland Connect — Submarine Networks — accessed 2026-07-15

Attachments

Source image

Quality score: 96/100

How is this calculated?

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported

Top 1% in this catalogue (573 scored practices)

Scores cluster high, so position within the catalogue is often more telling than the number alone.

Evaluation

Evaluated by C-NAPSE

Score profile — the dimensions behind the score — how it's computed

Innovation level4/5

Laying a 4,500 km subsea fibre system to serve a roadless Arctic nation, later extended 680 km further north, was a genuine engineering first for Greenland even if fibre cables themselves are mature technology elsewhere.

Sustainability (ongoing)1/1

The system has operated continuously since 2009, been upgraded multiple times, and remains Greenland's core digital backbone 15+ years on under its original operator.

Evaluation evidence1/1

Concrete, source-verified technical outcomes are documented: an ~500ms latency cut in Nuuk and a capacity upgrade from 1.92 Tbps to 12.8 Tbps, reported consistently by the financier, the operator and independent industry press.

Demonstrated reach1/1

The network now serves Greenland's most populous west-coast towns (Nuuk, Qaqortoq, Maniitsoq, Sisimiut, Aasiaat), covering the large majority of the country's roughly 56,000 residents.

Documented learning1/1

Tele Greenland's 2016 decision to extend the cable network north in response to demand, and Tusass's 2025 satellite partnership to cover the remaining east-coast gap, show iterative learning from the original build's limits.

Cite this

Evidoria. Greenland Connect — La Fibre Sous-Marine qui Connecte l'Arctique. Persistent ID: 16c16765-82d5-4b8f-bd43-efe53a9934ca.

Export as decision brief (PDF)

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