Faroe Islands

Cables and Landing Points

Two submarine cable systems connect the Faroe Islands to the wider international network. CANTAT-3, which entered service in 1994, is one of the older active systems in the North Atlantic and forms part of the transatlantic cable heritage linking Europe with North America. FARICE-1 is a more regionally focused system spanning 1,205 kilometres, oriented toward Iceland and onward connectivity in the North Atlantic corridor.

Two landing points are documented on the islands: Funningsfjørður and Tjørnuvík, both on the main island of Streymoy and its neighbouring geography. The existence of two distinct landing locations provides a degree of physical diversity — a cut or localised damage affecting one coastal landing does not automatically sever both cable connections.

Capacity and Resilience

With only two cables on record, the Faroe Islands operates one of the smaller submarine cable portfolios in Northern Europe. Each cable represents a separate international route, which offers more resilience than reliance on a single system, but the margin is thin. A fault on either cable would reduce international bandwidth to whatever the surviving system alone can carry. There is no third route to absorb traffic should both systems experience simultaneous problems — an unlikely scenario, but not an impossible one given the North Atlantic's demanding operating environment.

CANTAR-3's age is a relevant consideration. Systems commissioned in the early 1990s were designed around the bandwidth expectations of that era, and while cables can operate well beyond their original design lives, older systems typically carry less capacity than modern fibre pairs. FARICE-1 introduces a complementary path and presumably more contemporary specifications, though the two cables together still represent a relatively constrained total pipe for a territory dependent on external connectivity.

Geography's Role

The Faroe Islands sit roughly equidistant between Iceland, Norway and Scotland — a position that makes them a logical waypoint for North Atlantic routing rather than a terminal destination. This geographic fact shapes the cable environment: the islands benefit from proximity to established cable corridors without being large enough to anchor major new builds on their own commercial merits.

The North Atlantic is a demanding operating environment. Strong currents, deep water and difficult seabed conditions along parts of these routes mean that repair operations, when required, are logistically complex and time-consuming. For a small island group, that reality reinforces the value of maintaining at least two independent cable paths, even if the overall capacity cushion remains modest.