FARICE-1
Active1,205 km submarine cable system, ready for service }}.
Key facts
- Status
- Active
- Ready for service
- }}
- Length
- 1,205 km
- Design capacity
- 720Gbit/s
- Owner
- Farice
- Connects
- Faroe Islands,Iceland
Landing points
- item1_value=1 | 1 = Seyðisfjörður, Iceland, item1_value=1 | 1 = Seyðisfjörður — Iceland
- item2_value=3 | 2 = Funningsfjørður, Faroe Islands, item2_value=3 | 2 = Funningsfjørður — Faroe Islands
- item3_value=5 | 3 = Dunnet Bay, Caithness, Highland, Scotland }}, item3_value=5 | 3 = Dunnet Bay
Overview
FARICE-1 is a 1,205-kilometre submarine cable system spanning the North Atlantic between Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Scotland. Owned and operated by Farice, the cable represents the primary digital lifeline for two island communities whose geographic remoteness makes terrestrial connectivity impossible.
Route and Landing Points
The cable lands at three points: Seyðisfjörður on Iceland's east coast, Funningsfjørður in the Faroe Islands, and Dunnet Bay in Caithness on the northern tip of the Scottish mainland. The routing is geographically logical — the three landing points form a stepping-stone path across the North Atlantic, threading through the Faroe Islands as an intermediate node between Iceland and the British mainland. Dunnet Bay provides onward access to the broader European terrestrial fibre network.
This corridor is one of the more demanding stretches of seabed in the world for cable infrastructure, with significant water depths and challenging North Atlantic conditions between each segment.
Capacity and Ownership
FARICE-1 carries a design capacity of 720 Gbit/s. Ownership rests with Farice, a company whose name is derived from a contraction of the two island communities it principally serves. The builder of the system is not documented in available records.
Regional Significance
For Iceland and the Faroe Islands, FARICE-1 is not simply one route among many — it functions as foundational infrastructure for international connectivity. Both territories rely on submarine cables as their sole means of international data carriage, with no overland alternatives. Within the North Atlantic cable mix, FARICE-1 occupies a distinct niche: a relatively short system by global standards, but one whose strategic importance to its served communities is disproportionate to its length.